Appearances
by RMCstephAGD
Summary: Love is not something to be taken lightly, as Hermione and Ginny have found out the hard way... Its the end of term... Harry Potter style! This part of the fic is COMPLETE! but check out the partial sequel "In This Diary!" R&R PLEASE!
1. The Trouble With Yule Balls

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any characters contained within this story, J. K. Rowling does, and she kicks ass, so I wouldn't steal her stuff from her.  
  
Appearances  
  
Chapter 1: The Trouble With Yule Balls  
  
"No."  
"No? Why on Earth not?"  
"Because its weird Harry, that's why," she turned around and faced him. She bit her lip as she looked through is round glasses and into his deep green eyes. "I can't do it."  
She turned back around and walked briskly down the drafty corridor towards the Gryffindor common room. Harry stood in his spot, staring blankly at her full hair swaying with her hips. Running his hand through his hair, he pondered her response.  
"Girls, way more trouble than they're worth. Believe me," a voice said next to him. "Especially that one, just stay away from her when it comes to romantic stuff. The road less traveled is generally that way for a reason."  
Harry sighed and turned to look at the red-haired boy who stood at his eye level. "Thanks Ron, you've certainly shed some light on the mystery that is Hermione."  
Ron shrugged his shoulders. "Hey, I told you that last time too, didn't I. But no, you don't listen to me at all." He pushed Harry towards the common room, causing his 6 foot 3 inch build to falter.  
"Please stop pushing me, it's getting a little old," Harry said regaining his balance and adjusting his glasses. They began walking to the common room, Harry's hands shoved into his pockets and his feet shuffling on the ground.  
The shuffling echoed through the corridor, creating a loud squeak that caused the portraits on the wall to murmur amongst themselves about the poor upbringing of young witches and wizards in "these lax years."  
It drove Ron just as crazy. "Harry!" he yelled stepping in front of him and grabbing the wizard's shoulders. "For goodness sake, if it's eating you that bad, go and talk to her about it. Ask her for a reason! Jeez, you act like someone ran over your broom or something. She's just a girl."  
"She's not just a girl. She's Hermione." Harry said sidestepping Ron and continuing to the common room. He stopped in front of the portrait of the fat lady and whispered the password, "Truth."  
They both climbed in and sitting in the common room were a few second years and Hermione and Ginny working on one of Ginny's Muggles' Studies scrolls. "I get the television thing, but what's a computer?" Ginny asked, trying to take in the vast amounts of electronic devices that had been described to her in class.  
She looked up and saw Ron and Harry walking into the room. "How's it going guys?" she asked, thankful for the distraction from her scroll. "Almost ready for the Yule Ball?"  
Harry winced as he saw Hermione drop her head to her chest and her face glowed through her hair. Ginny, noticing Harry's face, looked to Hermione. "What's wrong?" she asked.  
"Um, I think," Ron stumbled for words. "I can help you with your scroll upstairs, Ginny." He walked up to her and grabbed her arm and her Muggles' Studies book.  
"But Hermione was." she tried to say as she quickly grabbed for her remaining supplies on the table.  
"I can help you now," Ron cut her off as he dragged her up the stairs, the girl flailing to understand what was going on.  
Hermione looked up at Harry. "You know, you didn't have to have Ron drag her away. She's 16-years-old now, she isn't a child."  
He looked down at Hermione, who bore a frown on her face, and rolled his eyes. "Come on, since when do I have anything to do with Ron's random 'this is an awkward moment so I'm going to make an arse of myself' outbursts?"  
Hermione looked satisfied with this and brushed her hair out of her still slightly pink face. "I see that you would like to talk," she said, breathing deeply. "You can sit down." Her hand went out and touched the seat next to her on the couch.  
Sitting down on the couch, Harry took Hermione's hand and looked into her eyes. She tried to pull away, retracting from the intimacy, but he held fast to her hand. "Why did you say no, Hermione? I really want, no, I need to know," he whispered, keeping his face far enough away from hers to keep her from being too uncomfortable, but heightening the intensity all the same.  
Hermione closed her eyes and swallowed hard. "Because it would be weird." He opened his mouth to protest but she raised her free hand and cut him off. "Let me finish. If you want an explanation, you have to let me talk." She readjusted herself in her seat and faced him more. "Listen, Harry, we've tried this already. It didn't work out."  
"Can't we try again!" he blurted out. Immediately his face grew deep red and he ducked his head as all of the other students in the common room turned to face the pair.  
Hermione scowled at him and wretched her hand away. "If you want to talk civilly, we can go to my room and discuss this. Without yelling," she seethed and stormed off to her single where she resided as Head Girl.  
Harry, covering his flushed face, scampered off to her room, quietly opening the door that she had slammed in her wake. "I'm sorry," he said as he bowed his head.  
She just stood there with her arms folded across her chest. "You mortify me, Harry Potter."  
"Please continue explaining," was all he could say as he slunk into the chair next to her bed.  
Hermione took a seat on her bed and regained her composure. "Ok, where was I. Well, we've tried dating already Harry. When you asked me to Yule Ball during 5th year, I don't think you understood how happy I was. You noticed me, I wasn't just Hermione anymore, I was a woman worthy of Harry Potter's notice." As she spoke there was a sparkle in her eye that made Harry remember that year. "But I learned quickly that sometimes the things you think you want aren't always what you really want. There was just no chemistry between us, Harry. I loved you, and I still do, but that doesn't go past friendship."  
"Then why can't we go to Yule Ball this year as just friends? You know, good fun." He looked into her eyes, searching for something in there that told him that everything was going to be fine.  
But she stared down at her bedspread. "Harry, if I go to Yule Ball with you, you have to know that I won't fall in love with you, not again. It won't be this magical time in which you get the girl you've been pining after all these years. You think that we'll both look stunning, you'll wow me with your debonair and everyone will talk for weeks about whether or not we're together and how we fell in love all over again because of the enchantment of the Ball. But that's not the way it's going to go, not this time anyway."  
"I don't want you to fall in love with me again, Hermione," he said. He got out of the chair and kneeled on the floor in front of her and took her hands in his. "Look at me Hermione." She looked into his eyes, her own filled with tears. "I want a friend, believe me, not love."  
She took his face in her hands. "I do love you Harry Potter, I really do. And we will be together forever. Maybe we'll live down the street from each other or both work in the Ministry of Magic. But I can't love you like you want me to, and I know that you still love me."  
Harry looked down at the floor so she couldn't see the hurt in his eyes; she always had the ability to see right through him. "Fine, but can't we just do one night of fun? No strings attached, I swear on my honor as your best friend."  
"All right then, it's a date." She smiled warmly and kissed his forehead. They both stood and Harry embraced her tightly. She wiped a tear from her eye and pushed him away. "Come on now, it's late. We've both got to get to bed, Potions bright and early tomorrow morning!"  
As he closed the door behind him, Harry sighed, dropping his head to his chest. "How'd it go?" Harry jumped and clutched his chest as he heard the voice.  
"Ginny! Don't scare me like that," he said walking over to where she sat on the common room couch. "How long have you been out here?"  
Her face was straight, not showing any emotion. She was trying desperately not to jump on him screaming 'Does she love you or not!' All she wanted to hear was that she had a chance. "Not too long. Ron told me what was going on and I wanted to talk to whoever needed me after the outburst in here earlier."  
Harry smiled and tousled her long red hair. "Thanks Gin, but I think we're going to be OK, despite the fact that she doesn't love me anymore. But Yule Ball will change that. She doesn't think it will, but I'll show her that we're meant to be together."  
As she smoothed her hair back down, all Ginny could muster was a fake smile. "Well, good luck. You know, Harry Potter has to get the girl, it's just the way the story goes."  
He smiled at her and bounded up the stairs, calling back his goodnight. Ginny collapsed on the couch and covered her face in her hands, holding back the flood of emotions that no one could see. Lying back on the couch, she eventually let the tears run, knowing that no one was around to see and aching with the pain of rejection from someone who didn't even know what they had done.  
The candles had dimmed in the common room; Ginny had been there for over an hour. She hadn't noted the time though, until she heard a door creak. Staying as close into the couch as she could, she listened to the sound of the Head Girl tiptoe her way to the portrait hole and leave the common room.  
Hermione scanned the dark corridor before she climbed out of the entrance to the common room. She clung tightly to her cloak, trying not to make a sound as she made her way to the stairs that she briskly walked up before they had a chance to shift on her. Using the Marauder's Map, making her way to the third floor without running into Filch, Mrs. Norris, or Peeves was becoming easier by the night, but she never let down her guard. She had almost been caught two nights before and was on high alert as she stealthily slipped into an unlocked room.  
"Is that you?" a husky voice called out to her in the dark room.  
"Of course," she whispered back, slipping into the shadows. Feeling a strong pair of hands grab her waist her body turned to putty and melted into his strong arms. "It feels so good to be here, with you. I miss you so much."  
The hands wrapped around her, his face buried itself into her hair and neck, inhaling her scent deeply. "I love being here with you," the voice said. "This is the only part of the day that I look forward to anymore."  
Hermione brought her face up, her lips meeting with the warm flesh of his face, and they began searching for the other pair of lips that brought her so much joy. Their connection was like a surge of electricity setting Hermione's body on edge, every hair stood on end.  
She pulled away and the pair slid themselves down to the floor. "How has your day been?" she asked as she sat with her back to him, his arms curled around her chest and his face rested on her shoulder.  
There was a deep sigh. "Same as yesterday," the voice grumbled. "I swear I feel as though I've lost my youth entirely. I'm not that old, am I Hermione?"  
She turned and pecked him on the lips. "Not old at all." She smiled brightly, causing a smile to spread across his face. "Professor McGonagall is old, Professor Snape is old."  
"But," the voice interrupted.  
She put her hand to his lips. "You are not in any way old. If you were old, you wouldn't have climbed all the way up here to be with me past curfew."  
"Well thank you for shedding some light on who is really old at this school," the voice said. "How has your day been?"  
Hermione rolled her eyes and rubbed her temples. "The day was fine, but right before curfew Harry and I had a little 'discussion.'" He raised an eyebrow, urging her on. "He asked me to be his date for Yule Ball." His body drew back from her slightly. "I said no the first time, and come on, it's not really like we could go together or anything," she said quickly.  
"I know," the voice said, poorly masking the stab in the heart.  
"So we had a talk," she said, leaning back into his body. "I told him that I can't fall in love with him again. He said that he wasn't expecting that to happen and I eventually agreed to go with him, just as friends. Believe me, you have nothing to be concerned about. I'm your girl."  
His face nuzzled into her hair, enjoying the silky feel against the skin. "I love you, Hermione."  
"I love you too."  
As the sun rose, they stirred and with a kiss, Hermione dashed off to Gryffindor tower. He made its way down the stairs to prepare for class. "It should be illegal for Potions to be this early," the voice mumbled. He brushed into the room, noticing that Hermione was already seated in her front row position.  
"You will have an exam today," Snape growled as he reached the front of the classroom. "Prepare your cauldrons for a sleeping draught, now." He walked up to his desk and sat down with a flourish of his cloak to grade some third year scrolls.  
Ron winced. "It should be illegal for Potions to be this early," he whined to Harry as he mixed the ingredients for the draught.  
"It should be illegal for Potions to be ever," Harry retorted as he began to stir the contents of his cauldron.  
Snape's eyes fixed on the pair. "This is an exam," he said pointedly. "If I hear one more word I won't give you the chance to fail on your own merit." He looked back down at his papers.  
Ron made a face and went back to his potion. Hermione mixed with a bit of bounce in her actions, still riding high from the previous night's rendezvous. Of course, everyone was oblivious, when Snape gave an exam the focus was only how not to fail.  
When class ended, Harry, Ron and Hermione began the walk up from the dungeon to the common room. "You missed breakfast again this morning, Mione," Harry said, concerned. "I know you study all the time, but if you keep neglecting to eat, that can't be good for your health or your grades."  
"Um, I was just up really late last night and slept through breakfast. But I did have some leftovers on my way to class that I brought up after dinner last night," she smiled at the guys.  
Ron snickered. "Sure, sleeping through breakfast," he said stifling a giggle.  
Hermione shot him a look that would have wilted the Whomping Willow.  
  
"Sorry, Mione," he said, eyes like a deer caught in the headlights. "I was just kidding around. Really, I didn't mean nothing by it."  
"I'm getting some lunch, so you don't make some lude remark about this meal now," she said and stormed off to the Great Hall.  
Harry looked wide-eyed at Ron. "Someone's in the dog-house now, aren't they?"  
"Don't know what I said, but I'll tell you I'll never say it again!" Ron whispered to Harry, shaking his head. "I don't know what's gotten into her recently. It's like that time thingy she did in fourth year all over again. She's way cranky."  
"Well maybe it's because she's got you two morons for friends," Ginny's voice came from behind them.  
"Can it, Gin, for mercy's sake," Ron groaned.  
Harry reached out and tousled Ginny's hair. "Hey you," he said playfully. "Hope your morning's been going better than Ron's over here."  
"I've had a great morning, thank you," she said smoothing her hair back down. "And can you please not do that to my hair anymore? This Weasley hair is difficult enough to control in the first place, I don't need you going and messing with my morning efforts." She sent Harry a small scowl.  
He looked at her quizzically. "Sorry Gin, I guess. I didn't know it bother you so much."  
"What's with you women today!" Ron huffed throwing his hands up in the air, completely defeated.  
Ginny shot her brother a look of disdain. "I'm going to have lunch with the other 'crazy' woman, thank you very much." She turned and stormed away from them. "What arses," she cursed under her breath. "Boys are just so not worth it."  
She entered the Great Hall and looked over to the Gryffindor table where Hermione sat pouting by herself. Ginny walked over to her slowly, clutching her books to her chest and double-checking her hair again. "So, boys really know how to ruin a perfectly good morning, huh?" she said, standing behind Hermione.  
"You said it," she said, scooting over so Ginny could sit beside her. "So how'd they ruin your perfectly good morning?" she asked turning back to her heaping plate of food.  
Ginny sighed as she started spooning roasted potatoes onto her plate. "The usual gripe. It's Harry; he still doesn't see me as anything more than Ron's kid sister. I've helped you guys save the magical and muggle worlds a few times and he has yet to notice that I'm not 12 anymore. To be perfectly honest, you're the only person who makes me feel like I'm worth something, Hermione."  
"Don't say that, Ginny!" Hermione said, giving the girl a hug. "You're absolutely magnificent. And there's someone else out there who makes you feel worth something." Hermione gave Ginny a knowing look.  
Her eyebrows rose and her mouth fell open. "What?" Ginny exclaimed. "Do you? How? Did I?"  
Hermione giggled in spite of herself. "I know a few things. And believe me, I couldn't be happier for you."  
"Really?" she said. "So you know who and everything?"  
"You forget I have the Marauder's Map for my own little escapades," Hermione smiled. Ginny laughed and threw her arms around Hermione. "We women have to stick together. Men are stupid, and if we don't have each other to buffer their extreme arse-ness, we would all go crazy!"  
Ginny just looked at Hermione. "Are you ever going to tell anyone other than me who these late nights have been spent with?" Hermione violently shook her head. "Didn't think so," Ginny said turning back to her plate of food.  
"I could ask you the same question though," Hermione said. Ginny just looked at her. "See, very sensitive topic, isn't it? Would you really want everyone at this school on your case?"  
"We take this to the grave," Ginny said somberly.  
Hermione giggled. "Or at least to graduation." Ginny laughed.  
The clock in the Great Hall began to chime. "Oh, I've got to run, Potions beckons," Ginny said grabbing her books and kissing Hermione on the cheek. "I'll see you later."  
Hermione waved goodbye and opened a book at the table. The Great Hall was completely empty; Hermione's independent study allowed her the free period so she could work in peace. She heard footsteps in the Hall though and she raised her head. "Tonight," a voice said behind her as a hand ran down the side of her face.  
She whipped around and kissed the lips and as she broke away mumbled, "Tonight." 


	2. How Deep Is Your Love

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any characters contained within this story, J. K. Rowling does, and she kicks ass, so I wouldn't steal her stuff from her.  
  
Chapter 2: How Deep Is Your Love  
"Don't play with me!" Ginny yelped. A hand reached out and touched her stomach lightly.  
His face smiled lightly at her. "I love to play with you. It keeps me, happy," he said. He curled Ginny into his arms and kissed her lightly.  
  
A smile spread across her face and she brushed back her hair. "You? Happy?" she mocked. "My goodness, what would everyone think?" She giggled lightly.  
They had met out in the gardens on the Hogwarts grounds during an hour or so that they both had free before dinner and after classes. It was a common time for them to see each other in the spring, but that afternoon had been warm and sunny, despite the December month.  
They heard a rustle in the bushes and froze. "Ginny, did you hear that?" he whispered and ducked behind a bush.  
Ginny began to panic, turning around, looking for the source of the noise. She silently cursed the magical grounds that meant anything could have produced the sound. Looking over a few hedges she saw nothing and knelt down next to him behind the bush. "I didn't see anything," she said. She kissed him and brushed her hair out of her face again.  
She stood up again; he noticed she had the height of her brothers and the full figure of her mother. The perfect combination in his mind. "You are gorgeous," he said looking up at her. Her lightly freckled Weasley face blushed, he remembered the deep blush she used to display when she first arrived at the school, but now the slight rouge it added to her cheeks made her all the more irresistible.  
He stood up and took her in her arms. "I love you," he said to her.  
  
"I love you too," she said. "But I think it's time for you to go up to dinner, I'll be there in about fifteen minutes." He kissed her and began walking up to the castle.  
Watching him walk away made her smile to herself. No one would ever understand what she saw in him, not in a million years and she knew it. But she didn't care; she was ready to do something for herself.  
She turned around to begin taking a walk by herself, making an alibi as she went along. She had almost reached the castle when she saw Harry walking towards her from that direction. "Harry!" she squeaked as she saw him. She grabbed her heart and gasped. "What on Earth are you doing out here so close to dinner?"  
"Sorry," he said. "I was just walking around, doing some thinking." He shoved his hands in his pockets; his robe blew lightly around him in the breeze. His scar was still as visible as ever as his hair whipped around his forehead. She remembered why she used to have such a crush on him.  
She smiled at him. "Would you like to walk back up to the Great Hall with me?" she asked. "We could do some thinking together."  
"That might be nice," he said, looking at her. She looked so different somehow; the breeze threw her bright red hair across her face and her hips swayed when she walked. She really wasn't the little girl he still thought of her as. "Ginny," he said to her, stopping. "You've changed so much over the past six years, Gin. For some reason I feel like it's taken me so long to realize it."  
Ginny looked at him. "Thank you for finally noticing, Harry. I've been waiting for you to acknowledge that for years now." She reached out and took his hand. "You haven't changed a bit though, not since that first day you came to the Burrow. You've been the same Harry Potter I've known for seven years."  
"Thanks," he smiled.  
Ginny looked down at her feet. "That's not entirely a compliment." He looked at her like she had just petrified Hedwig. "I'm sorry, but this has been playing on my mind for quite some time now and this seems to be the only time we've had a real chance to talk." She looked back up and him and brushed a few stray hairs out of her face again. "Harry, you have to understand, things change. But you just never did. You never realized I grew up, or that Hermione did or Ron or anyone for that matter. Hermione does love you, Harry, but it's an innocent and very platonic love. If you really think about it, you probably don't even love her like you think you do. We've all changed so much, and you've tried to hold on so hard to the way things used to be. You've got to open your eyes Harry, to the way things are now." She looked at him happily. "I think you'd enjoy it."  
"I don't really know what I should do with this information," he said, baffled entirely. He looked at her then at the ground and then to the castle. "I'm going in to the common room. I'll talk to you later. Maybe." He started to walk back across the grounds in a daze, his mind was reeling from the information that Ginny had just provided him with.  
"Harry, come back!" she called after him. "Wait! I really didn't mean to say." But he ignored her. She could see him wiping his face fervently as he pushed back towards the castle into the wind.  
Ginny hurried into the Great Hall, feeling extremely guilty for what she had said. Ron caught her just as she got to the doors. "Bloody hell! What happened to Harry?" he asked. "He looked like he was on one of Neville's potions gone very wrong and he walked right past me, stopped, turned around and said 'You could have told me earlier, you arse,' and then walked on."  
"Harry's acting very odd," Hermione said as she walked up to Ginny and Ron. "What happened to him. He just gave me the look of death."  
Ginny sighed. "I told him."  
"About!" Hermione gasped.  
Her eyes grew wide. "No!" Ron looked at the girls but quickly forgot the look they exchanged. He knew it was no concern of his and could only lead to women troubles. "I told him what we've all talked about time and again. About the fact that he hasn't changed in seven years, he's never moved on from where he was when he was twelve. He freaked just a little bit," Ginny said sheepishly.  
"A little bit!" Ron yelled, coming back into the conversation. "I think you made him cry!"  
Hermione sighed. "Stop exaggerating, Ron." She paused and thought for a moment. "You made him cry!" she yelled at Ginny, her eyes widening. She stopped again and pondered the best solution. "Maybe I should go talk to him."  
"Nah, I'll go," Ron said. "He probably needs to talk to a guy about this sort of thing. You know how we men are." Ron puffed out his chest and the girls just rolled their eyes. "Don't worry, I promise I won't make it worse," he said dejectedly.  
"Tell him I'm sorry," Ginny said as Ron trudged off up the stairs.  
Ron tiptoed into the common room; Harry wasn't there. He went up to their room; he still wasn't up there. "Harry, where are you?" he called out. He heard a slight rustle on the bed. "Harry, are you under the invisibility cloak on the bed?" he asked, cocking his head at the bed.  
Harry pulled off the cloak and looked at Ron. "Why didn't you guys tell me sooner that I was still treating everyone like we were twelve? I feel horrible," he said. "It feels like you betrayed me, not telling me sooner. I thought we were all closer than that."  
"You can't force someone to realize something like that, Harry. And you didn't do it on purpose, and that's the most important part, it really is." Ron sat down on the bed with Harry. "You can't force Hermione to love you; she just might love someone else. You can't look at Ginny like my kid sister; as much as I hate to admit it, she's a woman now, and boy does everyone notice. And you can't treat me like second banana, I'm on the Quidditch team, just like you, and I was a prefect last year."  
"That doesn't excuse the fact that you all lied to me! What were you trying to protect me from?" He glared menacingly at Ron. "It hurts more than this damn scar!"  
Ron scoffed. "That bloody scar, always the bloody scar!" He pushed back Harry's hair and touched the scar. "Everyone always thought you would self-destruct at any moment because of that damn thing. That's why everyone put up with you treating us like you did, because you were special, you were Harry Potter. You'd dealt with more by the time you were a year old than we had all dealt with in our entire lives combined! Don't get me wrong, we're all very thankful, but you were cut some slack. It's just time to wake up and smell the pumpkin juice."  
Harry looked at the bed. "Where have I been the past seven years? Everything really has changed. And I'm really sorry for treating you like 'second banana,' I never meant to treat you as anything but equal. And the scar isn't an excuse. It seems to be fine, has been for a while. Maybe I can even have that little bit of a normal life, huh?" Harry smiled weakly, offering up his apology to Ron.  
Ron smiled. "We're square, Harry," he said. They shook hands and hugged quickly. "You might want to come down to dinner and talk to the girls. They look worried. And I know Ginny is sorry for the way she told you what she did. She never meant it to sound that way."  
They got up and began to walk out of the room, Harry slapping Ron on the back. "That's Ginny for you, she never really did have that Weasley tact that the rest of you have," he said sarcastically.  
"I resent that," Ron smiled as they made their way to the Great Hall. As they entered Ginny and Hermione immediately stood up and ran to Harry. "He's ok girls," Ron said. "You didn't kill him or anything."  
Harry looked at Ginny. "Thank you for telling me, I had no idea that I had never grown up. And to be perfectly honest, I don't think you could have gotten through to me any other way than just telling me. I thank you very much," he said. Ginny's eyes welled up with tears and she hugged him. "And Hermione," Harry said turning to her. "I don't know what to say. I'm so sorry for everything."  
"I am too, Harry," she said. "And I do love you." She threw herself into his arms and began to sob.  
Harry laughed lightly. "You girls and your emotions." She let go of him and wiped her eyes. "You don't have to go to Yule Ball with me if you don't want to, if you want to go with someone else you really do love, just in case another man's won your heart or something like that." He winked at her.  
"Nah," she said, lightly hitting his arm. "I think I'll stick with you."  
As they all walked to the Gryffindor table, Ginny saw him and their eyes locked for a minute. "Potter," he inwardly scoffed. "It's always Potter." He stopped for a second and realized what he was saying. "I'm jealous of Harry Potter. What is this world coming to? I'm jealous of Potter because he can be with Ginny when I can't be."  
His eyes spoke it all to hers and she looked sympathetically back at him. "One day," she thought. "One day soon we can finally be together always." 


	3. Surprise

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any characters contained within this story, J. K. Rowling does, and she kicks ass, so I wouldn't steal her stuff from her.  
  
Chapter 3: Surprise  
"Hermione, you'll take his breath away!" Ginny sighed as Hermione twirled around her room in her new robes. Her robe was navy blue velvet and her hair was straightened and highlighted, giving her entire face a shimmer.  
"And whose breath do you mean?" she beamed at Ginny. She fluffed her hair and giggled.  
Ginny sighed again. "Any man in there. You look absolutely gorgeous. You are irresistible."  
Hermione pulled Ginny off of her bed and spun her around so her green robes spun out around her and the little wisps of hair she left down tickled her face. "There's one man whose eyes will be on only you tonight. I could never take his gaze off of your body, no matter how hard I might try." Ginny's mouth dropped. "Not that I would!" Hermione said quickly. "I'm just saying!"  
Ginny laughed. "I know, I'm just yanking you." Ginny smoothed out her robes and checked her hair in Hermione's mirror. "Do you really think that he'll like the way I look? It's so different."  
There was a soft knock at the door that interrupted their conversation. Hermione opened the door and standing out in the common room were Harry and Seamus, beaming and waiting for their dates. "Harry and Seamus are outside," Hermione turned and said to Ginny. "It's time to go."  
As Ginny walked out the door Seamus took her arm and began to pin a flower to her robes. "You look stunning, Ginny. I'm really glad you agreed to go with me."  
Ginny smiled. "I'm glad you asked." She looked around the common room. "Where's Ron?"  
Harry just laughed. "He's still putting his robes on. You know, he has to look perfect, and of course make a grand entrance ten minutes after everything's going." They started to file out of the common room and headed down to the Great Hall where they could already hear that the party was in full swing.  
Hermione laughed. "Why did he decide not to bring a date this year? I don't understand his motivations for anything anymore." Seamus and Harry just looked at her in disbelief. "What?" she asked.  
"Lavender almost killed him at last year's Yule Ball," Harry said. "I think he danced with every girl there at least once. He's turned into quite the gentleman and every girl wanted to dance with him. So as not to anger another date, he decided to go by himself so he can dance with whomever he chooses."  
Ginny rolled her eyes. "My brother the Don Juan. Who would have ever thought that a Weasley would be the man of every girl's dreams?"  
"Not I," Hermione said as they walked into the Great Hall. Almost every head in the hall turned to look at the foursome as they entered and made their way to their assigned dinner table. Hermione had no doubt in her mind that everyone was talking about her and Harry and whether or not they were back together. She smiled in spite of herself.  
The four sat down to dinner and began talking vibrantly about classes and Quidditch. Whenever the subject arose Hermione was teased relentlessly about her short fling with Viktor Krum, a professional Quidditch player, back in her fourth year. All of a sudden the room went quiet.  
Hermione, Ginny, Harry, and Seamus looked to the door to see what was going on. Hermione began choking and Ginny's eyes filled with tears as she covered her mouth. "That isn't." Harry began.  
"Ron!" some second year girl shrieked over the silence. Girls began murmuring and fanning themselves with their napkins and Ron walked over to Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and Seamus, winking and nodding to different girls as he went. He looked positively like Gilderoy Lockhart, a professor from their second year that every woman in the wizarding world was crazy for, to Hermione. His red hair was swept back and his robes were so silver they almost sparkled.  
He flashed the table a smile. "Good evening everyone," he said taking his seat for the meal. "I trust you've been having a good time so far."  
"What on Earth are you doing Ron," Ginny asked, completely dumbfounded by her brother and his ridiculous new outfit. "You look like a nancy-boy wizard!"  
"You look like Lockhart!" Hermione blurted.  
Ron smiled again. "And doesn't everyone love it." They all rolled their eyes and went back to their plates, each trying to stifle their laughs.  
Hermione couldn't stand it anymore and stood up. "Harry," she said. "Would you like to dance?" She held out her hand to him. He took it and stood up, whisking her out onto the dance floor. They began to move gracefully around the room drawing the attention of everyone away from Ron. "I couldn't sit there with him anymore," she giggled into Harry's shoulder. "He looks like Lockhart!"  
Harry smiled down at her and brushed his hand through her hair. "If I remember correctly, you had one massive crush on Lockhart our second year."  
She blushed deeply remembering her innocent crush on the professor. "I was young," she said. "I didn't have any real feelings for him. He was just good looking." Harry nodded and held back a light laugh. "Besides, you were the only man that had my true heart back then."  
"And now?" he asked as he dipped her to the music. The crowd began to whisper.  
"And now you're the greatest man I've ever been able to call my friend." She looked up into his eyes. It surprised her to see them shining back at her.  
He smiled and kissed her cheek. "I think I can live with that answer," he whispered into her ear. "I hope you find someone worthy of your love and your heart. And if anyone every hurts you, I'll hex them, I promise."  
Forgetting the etiquette of the evening, she threw her head back and let out a deep laugh. "Thanks, Harry," she said wiping away tears of laughter. "I'll hold you to that one." As the next song started up she saw Ron ask a sixth year girl to dance. "Hey, Ron's left the table, let's go sit back down for a minute and talk some more." They walked back to the table and sat down with Ginny and Seamus.  
"You guys looked like you were having fun out there," Ginny smiled. "I'm supposing you were keeping away from Ron the pimp or whatever he's trying to be." Hermione raised her eyebrows and nodded. "I don't know what's gotten into him. Seventh year guys are mental."  
"Hey!" Harry and Seamus said in unison looking at her indignantly.  
She rolled her eyes and looked at Hermione. "I stand by my comment."  
Hermione looked out over the dance floor; she saw Ron and another girl dancing wildly. She inwardly shook her head at his antics. Then she saw him across the room. His eyes were locked on hers although he was dancing with his own date, some Slytherin girl whose name she couldn't recall. A wave of jealousy washed over her; she remembered how he must have felt when she told him that she was going to the Ball with Harry. She didn't want to think about it, so she turned back to the conversation about how ridiculous Ron looked. "Hermione," Ginny interrupted. "Come with me to get something to drink." They both rose from their chairs and turned towards the punch table, manned by Professors Sprout and Snape.  
"I can get you girls something," Seamus said, standing up.  
"That's alright, we've got it," Ginny said. She held tightly to Hermione's hand as they walked up to the table. "I think I'm going to be sick," she whispered to Hermione.  
Hermione just looked at her. "Calm down, he's not going to disembowel you or something in the middle of Yule Ball."  
Ginny just looked at her. "Hermione, that's gross."  
"Hello Miss Granger, Miss Weasley," Professor Sprout said as they reached the table. "I trust you and your dates are having a good time?"  
Hermione smiled brightly. "Oh yes, Professor Sprout. Everything has turned out wonderfully. I'm so glad you both agreed to help out."  
Professor Snape just sneered. "Have some punch," he said handing a cup to Ginny. Her insides turned to knots as she took the cup from him and her fingers brushed his.  
"Thank you," she managed to squeak out.  
Hermione turned around and looked out across the dance floor again. She saw him again; he was coming towards the table. Quickly she ran her hands through her hair and pressed her lips together to make sure her lipstick was ok. "Here we go," she thought as he walked up to her.  
"Granger," he said with a smirk.  
"Malfoy," she sneered back. Their eyes locked and she saw past the hardened outer shell that everyone else was so accustomed to. She hated keeping up the charade of loathing and contempt, but it was the only way, in both of their eyes. "What do you want?"  
His lip curled as he looked her up and down. "I want." he faltered. "I want to." He dropped his head and his smirk, when he looked up at her again he was the Draco she knew from their late night rendezvous, the Draco no one else knew. Her face went white. "I want to apologize for all of the nasty things that I've said to you over the past seven years," he said in a slightly raised voice.  
"What are you doing," she whispered, her eyes growing wide.  
"I know I've told you time and again that I'm sorry," he said even louder. "I tell you every night before you leave. And I know that you say it's ok. But isn't." People were beginning to look over in the direction of the punch table. Draco's voice was getting louder with each sentence. "You should never put down someone you love, even if they tell you to." The entire room was silent. The music stopped and every eye was on Draco and Hermione. Her face had lost all color, and if she had tried to silence him it would have been impossible, her feet wouldn't move and she was incapable of vocal expression. "Hermione," he practically yelled. "I love you, and I don't care who knows!" She all but fainted at his outward expression of love for her. "If you let me, I will try to make it up to you, for the rest of my life."  
Hermione gasped and her hand flew to her mouth as Draco dropped to one knee. He drew a box out of his robe and opened it, holding it out to her. "Hermione Granger, will you marry me and I will try to make you the happiest woman in the wizarding and muggle worlds."  
The sparkle of the diamond reflected in Hermione's eyes. The entire school held their collective breath, waiting for her response. Tears began to stream down her face. "You already have, Draco, you already have." She sniffled and smiled brightly. "Yes, I'll marry you!"  
For the first time in all of their lives, they saw Draco smile, a real smile, as tears began to fall down his own face. He took the ring out of the box and slipped it onto Hermione's hand. "Thank you," he said. He stood up and kissed her deeply. Then he swept her up into his arms and spun her around.  
"The future Mr. and Mrs. Draco Malfoy!" Dumbledore said standing up and clapping loudly. Unsure of what else to do, the entire student body stood up and began to cheer wildly.  
Harry's mouth was hanging open back at the table and Ginny sobbed tears of joy for her best friend. Ron at some point had hit the floor and was revived in time to see Hermione and Draco holding each other tightly. 


	4. For The Rest Of Our Lives

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any characters contained within this story, J. K. Rowling does, and she kicks ass, so I wouldn't steal her stuff from her.  
  
Chapter 4: For The Rest Of Our Lives  
"When did things change?" Harry asked. He, Hermione, Ginny, and Ron sat in the Gryffindor common room after the Yule Ball had ended. There had been mayhem following Draco's proposal; the most hated student at the school and the Head Girl; no one knew what to think or imagine. Hermione had gotten quite a few comments stating that if she approved of Draco he must not be that bad. She was deliriously happy for the remainder of the ball and she had floated back to the common room, escorted by her new fiancée.  
She smiled brightly. "I don't know," she said thinking hard. "Maybe it was when you and I dated. I think I completely reevaluated this school and the people in it when I realized that I had been holding onto something that I didn't even want anymore. I was civilized towards Draco and he turned out to be a really nice guy."  
"But why did you decide to hide it from everyone?" Ron asked, still reeling from the hit he had taken to his head when he passed out.  
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Oh, you would have all been so accepting of my dating Draco Malfoy, the most hated among students." Ron and Harry looked guiltily at the floor. "And besides, we were afraid of his father's reaction. But I guess he stopped caring what other people thought."  
"Apparently," Ginny said. "I thought the whole thing was so romantic! You are so lucky Hermione." She spun around the common room, pretending to dance with a mystery man.  
"You'll get your own man," Hermione said to her. "Just you wait. But you don't know how romantic it was when we were dancing! He told my why he did it. He said, 'Hermione, when you told me you were going to the dance with Harry, I was so jealous that I couldn't stand it. I resolved to marry you right then and there. And when I saw you dance with him, I knew that I never wanted you to dance another dance without me. Any doubts or fears that I had melted away in that instant and I knew that I would love you for the rest of eternity.'" Ginny's eyes sparkled.  
Harry stood up and hugged Hermione. "Well, congratulations, Mione. I'm glad that you're so happy now, and if he hurts you, my offer still stands," he said. She kissed him on the cheek. "I'll have to congratulate Draco in the morning at breakfast." He left the common room and went up to bed.  
"Same goes for me, Hermione," Ron said, kissing her other cheek. "I wish you all the luck in the world. And I promise to play nice from now on if he does."  
She smiled. "I don't think that will be a problem." He went up to bed leaving the two girls down in the common room. Hermione turned to Ginny who was smiling brightly. "You are so lucky that Draco proposed when he did!  
  
Ginny looked at her in shock. "What are you talking about?" she asked in disbelief.  
"You were acting like a bumbling fool! I thought you were going to throw up on the punch table if you weren't distracted first," she laughed.  
She folded her arms across her chest. "That's not funny," she pouted. "I've never acted that idiotic in my life. I honestly don't know what my problem was." Hermione grinned from ear to ear.  
Ginny blushed deeply. "I'm meeting him now anyway. I'll be back sometime." She began to walk out of the common room. "Stop smirking at me!" she hissed back at her. Trying to shake the blush, Ginny crept silently down the stairs after having placed a silencing charm on her shoes. She had no idea what she would say to him when she saw him, she had made a fool of herself and she knew it. All she could think was that her childish display would cost her the love of her life.  
As she entered the dimly lit and slightly musty room she heard his voice call out to her. "Have some punch, Miss Weasley."  
She dropped her head. "You know I hate it when you call me that. And I'm sorry I acted like such a child, I guess I deserved the Miss Weasley, it goes along quite well with how I acted. I didn't mean."  
"Ginny, be quiet," he said taking her chin in his hand and kissing her. "I know you were trying to be subtle. Let me just say that it is not your forte. I love you, Ginny, and you are seventeen; you're allowed to have your giddy teenage girl moments. I would never try to take your childhood from you. It is really your most attractive asset."  
She smiled, glossy eyed at him. "So you don't want to leave me?"  
"No, Ginny, I wouldn't dream of ever leaving you." He smiled, a private thing that Ginny believed she had only ever seen. Taking her in his strong arms, he held her close and breathed in the scent of her. "Now, about Hermione and Draco," he said sitting her down on a desk in the classroom. "When on Earth did that happen? I thought that I was hallucinating."  
Ginny giggled. "At least you didn't pass out like Ron did! He's such an oaf." He laughed. "Well, it happened during fifth year I guess, when she and Harry were dating. Draco began being nice to her and I guess it all took off from there. I've known since this past summer."  
"Ah," he said. "And does she know about us?" His face took on its usual stone-like look.  
She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yes, she knows. But I didn't tell her, she figured it out on her own. Hermione's smart like that." She looked him in the eyes and kissed him lightly. "You know what, even if she told all of the wizarding world, after tonight, I don't think it would surprise anyone." He kissed her and she smiled. "I have to get back now, Hermione knows I'm out, she'll worry if I'm gone too late."  
"Ah, another mother, isn't she?" Ginny smiled and hopped off the desk. "Hurry back, and be careful!" he called as she trotted out of the room. He sat back in a chair. "She is unique," he thought.  
Ginny crept back through the castle and into the common room. She expected Hermione to be waiting for her, but she jumped when she saw her brother sitting on the couch in front of her. "Ron!" she hissed. "What are you doing?"  
"I could ask you the same question, now couldn't I?" he said, crossing his legs and leaning back. "Since we found out about Hermione's late night escapades, I wanted to make sure that my little sister wasn't engaging in any sort of illegal behavior. I guess I was wrong, now wasn't I?"  
Ginny gasped and brought her hands to her mouth. "Ronald Weasley, I swear that if you breathe a word of this to anyone that you won't live to see Commencement!" She began to pace the common room; her mind was racing.  
Ron looked at her. "One condition," he said thoughtfully. Ginny stopped in her tracks and looked back at him. "Who is it? If you tell me, then I won't tell a soul about your little adventures."  
"I will not be blackmailed into telling you!" she hissed at him. Her hair was wildly strewn about from her frantic pacing. "It has nothing to do with you."  
Ron frowned. "Well, I can use the Marauder's Map to find out who you're sneaking out to be with."  
"HA!" Ginny called out. "Hermione has it! You will never find out who I'm seeing. And you would never understand anyway. This is the same reason that Hermione never told you about Draco."  
His face twisted into a look of disgust. "It's not Crabbe or Goyle, is it? Just tell me that!"  
Her face matched his at the names. "No. It is most definitely not Crabbe or Goyle. But I'm not telling you who. Maybe one day he'll proclaim his love at a school dance and then you'll find out. But not one day before."  
Ron looked her up and down. "I'll figure you out yet, Miss Ginny. I will find out." He got up off of the couch and skulked up to his room.  
She stared in awe at her brother and shook her head. Hermione's door opened and she walked out and stood behind Ginny. "Bloody moron," Ginny said, dumbfounded.  
Hermione smiled. "Some things really never do change."  
"For better or worse," Ginny sighed. "He'll figure it out, Hermione, I know he will. He won't even sleep until he knows. He goes crazy sometimes." Ginny sat down on the couch and Hermione followed her. "You're lucky you never got together with him!  
Hermione looked at her, eyebrows raised. "Right. Ron and me? Are we in some sort of Twighlight Zone?"  
Ginny started giggling, then paused and thought for a moment. "Hermione," she said turning to look at her quizzically. "What's a Twighlight Zone?" 


	5. Rendezvous

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any characters contained within this story, J. K. Rowling does, and she kicks ass, so I wouldn't steal her stuff from her.  
  
Chapter 5: Rendezvous  
  
Ron sat in his room, puzzled. Harry, Neville, and Seamus had already left for dinner, but Ron had stayed behind in order to do some quality thinking.  
"Ok, it isn't Draco, he's obviously with Hermione," he said, scratching Draco's name off of a piece of parchment. "Seamus would have been too obvious, they went to Yule Ball together." He scratched Seamus' name off. "Harry." he trailed off. He gazed at the ceiling, debating the match. Hesitantly he scratched off Harry's name. "Too much history."  
He stared down at his list of all of the male students at Hogwarts. In the five days since his confrontation with Ginny he had spent every free moment contemplating his sister's secret lover. But that night he had finally narrowed the list down to one.  
"NEVILLE!" he jumped up and screamed. "The filthy bastard! Carrying on in secret with my sister. Won't even make an honest woman out of her!"  
His face matched his fiery red hair as he seethed at the thought of his roommate and his sister having secret nightly rendezvous.  
Ron was ready to tear Neville's things to shreds when Harry entered the room. "Ron, what's going on?" he asked, noticing Ron's flaming red ears.  
"Nothing," Ron said quickly as he snapped around. "Nothing at all, Harry. Just tidying up a bit. You know how messy I can get when classes begin to get harder." He looked at the parchment on his bed.  
Harry's gaze followed his and Ron made a flying leap for the bed. "What on Earth are you hiding Ron?" Ron just smiled innocently. "Ron, I know you better than that! Fess up already."  
"Fine," Ron conceded. "I was writing a letter to Hermione and Draco," he lied. "I'm having trouble being nice. No one was supposed to know about it until the wedding."  
"Oh, is that all?" Harry asked, his demeanor lightening. "Sorry for interrupting you then. Good luck with the letter." Harry gathered up a few books and left Ron sitting on his bed, staring at the parchment.  
Harry walked down into the common room to rejoin Hermione and Ginny. "Ron's been getting weirder by the day," he said, opening his Charms book. "He always looks guilty about something."  
Ginny sighed and rolled her eyes. "I think my brother has gone completely mad. He won't let me go anywhere by myself anymore."  
Although she feigned ignorance, Ginny knew that their encounter after Yule Ball was the reason for her brother's bout of insanity. She was entirely unwilling, though, to let Harry in on the secret, knowing full well that she would have another madman following and interrogating her if that was the case.  
"I guarantee it has something to do with Draco and me," Hermione lied. She had noticed Ginny's wrinkled brow, giving away her inner feelings of worry, and she knew Harry would have to remain in the dark about the truth of the matter. "Personally, I don't think he can handle this huge abrupt change."  
Harry let out a loud "ha!" and rolled his eyes. "I don't think anyone at Hogwarts can handle that change. The Head Girl and the most loathed among students together and engaged, its not what most people expected."  
Hermione shot him a look. "People need to be open-minded to change. That's all!"  
Ginny coughed and stood up. "As much as I would love to stay and continue this rousing discussion, I have some Potions work to attend to." Hermione looked at her slyly when Harry wasn't paying attention. Ginny returned the look. "I'm going to the library, I'll see you both later."  
Harry and Hermione waved as she scooted out of the portrait hole and into the dark corridor. Harry hadn't even realized how far past curfew it was when she left. Ginny stealthily looked both ways to check for Filch or any professors.  
She kept craning her neck around as she tiptoed through the castle and as she reached the bottom of a flight of stairs she ran into a body. "Going somewhere Miss Weasley?" its voice asked slickly. She cringed slightly and looked up to see Snape staring down at her. "Awfully late for a stroll," he snapped. Turning with a flourish he barked, " Follow me."  
Ginny followed him down to his dungeon office where he took a seat at his desk in front of her. "I'm sorry," she said, looking down at the floor.  
"Sorry you snuck out or sorry I was the one who caught you?" He stared at her with icy eyes. She didn't answer. "You were incredibly careless! What if someone else had been walking through and caught you? You would have been in serious trouble, and so would I!"  
"I would never have told, Severus!" she shot back, finding her voice. "The last thing that this school needs right now is a scandal between you and I. We would both be ruined, and no one would know which way was up anymore."  
"Then be more careful next time, Ginny!" He looked at her more tenderly now. "I don't care if I'm fired, but I couldn't stand to see you shamed by your association with me."  
Ginny hopped up on his desk, knocking books and supplies everywhere. "Nothing is happening to either of us," she said. She leaned over and kissed him.  
He smiled at her as she pulled back. "Fine," he said sounding less upset. "And ten points from Gryffindor for being out past curfew. Plus detention."  
Her jaw dropped in surprise, but her face melted into a coy smile. "Did you want to start on that detention now, Professor?" Her eyes sparkled in the dim candlelight and she reached out to stroke his chin. "Since I'm already out and in trouble, that is."  
"Detention it is then," he said standing up and kissing her. She laughed as he scooped her up into his arms, planting another kiss on her sweet perfect lips. Every time their lips touched it brought him back to that first time; to her sweet aroma and taste; to the way she blushed; to that first realization of love. He knew he would never trade her for all of the power and women in the world; he knew Ginny Weasley was the one. And that only made it harder.  
Ginny rubbed her eyes and looked at the large grandfather clock that loomed in the corner of Snape's office. "It's so late," she said groggily. "I don't want to go back to the common room." She rolled over and kissed Snape on the cheek. "Can't you write me a note or something for classes in the morning? I really don't want to leave."  
He smiled and kissed her. "No."  
She pouted and rolled over, sitting up. "Fine. I've got to get back up to the common room and get some sleep then." She got out of the bed and collected her shoes and robe from the seat of Snape's chair. As she got ready to leave, she walked back the bed and kissed him. "Goodnight Severus, I'll see you in the morning." He grunted and went back to sleep.  
Ginny tiptoed back into the common room, craning her neck looking for her deranged brother. She knew he would be waiting for her, somewhere. Much to her surprise, the only living thing she could find after a thorough investigation was Hermione's cat, Crookshanks. "Hey," she said scratching his long orange fur. "What are you doing outside of Hermione's room?"  
Crookshanks just purred and nuzzled Ginny's hand. She gave the cat a quick kiss on the head and dashed up the stairs. Crookshanks' eyes followed her all the way, then he leapt off the table on which he had been seated. Still purring he began to rub his face against a nearby statue.  
"Stop that you miserable animal!" the statue said, suddenly moving. Crookshanks yowled and hid under a couch. "Crazy cat," the statue said stepping off his pedestal. He turned and looked up the stairs  
"Returnio!" Pieces of plaster began to fall away revealing red hair and a plaster-dust covered Ron. He brushed himself off. "That was a nifty spell I must say," he said to Crookshanks who was still hiding. "More importantly I know what Ginny and Neville have been up to. I'll get them I will."  
He trudged up the stairs; his mind was racing with thoughts of how to expose his sister. When he reached his room he looked to Neville's bed and scowled. "Wait, how'd he get up here?" Ron thought to himself. He'd been down in the common room for hours, no one had come through. "Must have staggered their re-entrances by quite a bit," he concluded. "And he made her come in later, so if she got caught she'd be in loads more trouble. The filthy bastard."  
Ron crawled into his bed and stewed on his anger before falling into a restless sleep. 


	6. One Folly Too Far

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any characters contained within this story, J. K. Rowling does, and she kicks ass, so I wouldn't steal her stuff from her.  
  
Chapter 6: One Folly Too Far  
  
"Draco," a thin dark voice echoed through the Slytherin common room.  
  
Draco whipped around to face the entrance. "Father," he choked. "What are you doing here? Mother said that you had gone away on Ministry business."  
Lucious Malfoy sneered at his son and walked slowly and purposefully into the common room. Draco tensed as his father's cold grey eyes locked on his own. "I came home as soon as I heard the horrible rumor about you and that mudblood girl."  
Draco stood up and looked his father directly in the eye. "It's not a rumor, Father. Hermione and I are going to be married." Lucious stepped back as his face twisted into an expression of horror. "We're in love, and it doesn't matter to me that she isn't a pure blood, she's a better witch than any I've ever seen from a pure blood family."  
"How could you, Draco?" Lucious boomed. "I thought you had standards, I thought that you were a Malfoy!" He turned his back to Draco and inhaled deeply. "I'm disappointed and ashamed that I heard from Weasley that you were marrying a mudblood. What are you thinking?"  
"I'm thinking that I'm in love, Father," Draco said softly. "If that means I'm a bad Malfoy, then so be it."  
Lucious turned around, fire flashed in his eyes and he got within an inch of his son's face. "You aren't a bad Malfoy, Draco," he said through clenched teeth. "You aren't a Malfoy."  
Draco's eyes widened and his mouth hung slightly open. "What?" he managed to squeak out.  
"If you continue with this marriage, you will no longer be a Malfoy," Lucious threatened, backing off of Draco. "You will no longer receive your inheritance and I can guarantee you will never hold a decent position anywhere in the wizarding world, and neither will your mudblood wife."  
Draco fell back onto the couch he was seated on before his father arrived. "Not a Malfoy? Disinherited?" he thought. He had been groomed all of his life to take over the Malfoy family, to be provided for, he never considered being thrown out of it all. He knew his father would be angry when he found out about the marriage, but he never expected this.  
Lucious smiled inwardly. "He can't live without being a Malfoy," he thought. "He'll give that girl up as soon as his security is threatened." Lucious began walking towards the common room door. "I guess you'll be giving it up for her," he said icily.  
"Wait!" Draco called out. Lucious sneered and turned around, waiting for his son to concede to his wishes. "Yes, Draco?"  
"Let me walk you to the door, Lucious. I would feel inconsiderate not walking a guest out, and what kind of Slytherin would that make me?" Draco said, coolly and resolutely. He got up and walked to Lucious, whose face was completely blank.  
"I think I can show myself out," Lucious hissed and with a flourish of his cloak he stormed out of the common room.  
Draco exhaled. "I just ruined the rest of my professional life," he said to the empty room. "And Hermione's." He ran his had through his blonde hair and searched his brain for some solution to his new problem.  
The clock in the common room chimed, signaling him to leave for dinner where he could talk to Hermione. He left the common room and walked slowly and dazed down to the Great Hall. When he walked in he was immediately met by Hermione. "Hello Draco," she said kissing him. "How was your afternoon?"  
He took her hand and looked her in the eyes. "We need to talk, now." Draco led her out into the hall and over to the stairs and sat her down. "I saw Lucious today."  
"Oh really?" Hermione said brightly. She stopped and considered what he said more closely. "Lucious?" she inquired. "What happened Draco?"  
He sat down next to Hermione and took her hands again. "He disowned me. He didn't think that I should marry you and he told me that if I did that I would no longer be a Malfoy. I made my decision; I chose to be with you." Hermione gasped and put her hand over her mouth. "But he threatened that neither of us would ever have respectable jobs within the wizarding world."  
Hermione took Draco and kissed him. "I don't care what your father threatened. He doesn't have that much power and as long as we have each other things are going to be fine."  
Draco laughed. "You either vastly underestimate my father or you overestimate us," he said. "But thank you for not loving me just because I'm a Malfoy."  
It was Hermione's turn to laugh. "Now Draco, that would be your least attractive feature. You will never have to worry about me loving you for your name." She hugged him and gave him a soft kiss. "We'll talk about this more later, I'm hungry." Hermione stood up and extended her hand to Draco.  
As he pulled himself up he almost went flying when someone ran into his back. "Sorry!" Ron said, steadying himself. "I've got to get to the Great Hall, sorry!" he said running off.  
"What was that?" Draco asked.  
Hermione rolled her eyes and took his had. "I don't know, but I think we should go and make sure he doesn't do something too stupid."  
They walked back into the Great Hall just in time to see Ron dropping himself into a seat next to Ginny. "So, my darling Ginny, is there something that you would like to tell me?" Ron said placing his arm around her and looking at Neville who sat caddy corner to her.  
"Um, what are you talking about Ron?" she asked removing his arm from her and raising her eyebrows at him.  
Ron smirked at her. "Oh you know," he said. "Your late night meetings with your mystery man." Ginny tensed up as half of the Gryffindor table looked at her. She forced a smile and shot a look at Ron. "I know who it is and I must say that I'm fairly disappointed in you, Ginny."  
"Ron, how dare you!" Ginny seethed at him, her face glowing red. "You don't have a clue what you're starting by bringing this up here. If you want to discuss this in private, I will be more than happy to leave and sort this out with just you."  
"Oh no," Ron said. "I need to talk to you and Neville at the same time. You know, give you both a piece of my mind about this whole secret relationship thing you think you have going on."  
Snape heard Ginny's angry voice and looked over to the table, straining his ears to hear the argument taking place.  
Neville stared wide-eyed at Ron. "Ron, I never.we never.not Ginny and I! I don't even know what you're talking about!" Now almost all of Gryffindor and a few Hufflepuffs behind them were anxiously listening to the conversation, Hermione staring in horror at Ron, but completely unable to quiet him.  
"Ron, there is nothing going on between Neville and I!" Ginny squeaked out in disbelief. "No offense Neville, but ew! Ron you've gone completely mad and I do not appreciate these accusations in front of the entire school." She stood up to go back to the common room but Ron grabbed her arm.  
"I narrowed it down; the only person it could have been is Neville! Just tell the truth Ginny!" Ron yelled. The entire hall went quiet and everyone looked at Ginny, standing, red-faced and petrified.  
Professor McGonagall stood up. "Mr. and Miss Weasley," she said. "Please meet me in my office, immediately!" She swept out of the Great Hall and Ginny looked helplessly at Snape as she and Ron went down to McGonagall's office.  
"Good job Ron," Ginny said. "Now I'm going to be hounded for the rest of the year. That is if I'm not expelled for sneaking out first."  
Ron looked at her. "Then you should have just fessed up about Neville," he said snidely.  
"For goodness sake!" Ginny yelled. "I'm not with Neville and I never have been! That's not why I've been going out. Can't you just accept the fact that you were wrong and have made a colossal arse of yourself?"  
"Really?" Ron asked. "You're not with Neville?" Ginny shook her head. Ron dropped his head and his ears turned bright red as they reached McGonagall's door. "I'm sorry Gin, I really am. I'll try to fix this with McGonagall."  
"You had better start explaining your scene in there, you two," she said from inside. Ron and Ginny entered the office silently and approached the desk where McGonagall sat, stern look on her face. "What happened was uncalled for and very rude to the entire student body. I would like for one of you two to begin explaining."  
Ron coughed and spoke up. "It was me, Professor. I started yelling at Ginny for something that I thought she was keeping from me, and it turns out that she wasn't. I'm very sorry for disturbing the Hall."  
"Thank you Ron for taking responsibility for your actions," she said taking out her quill and writing something down. "You will serve detention for a week with Professor Snape." Ron groaned inwardly and his eyes rolled. "You may leave now." Ron and Ginny both turned to leave. "Miss Weasley, please stay," McGonagall called out.  
Ginny closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. "Yes, Professor?" she said turning around slowly to face the Gryffindor head.  
"Your brother, in his loud accusations, mentioned something about you sneaking out after curfew to meet someone." She looked over her glasses at Ginny. Ginny's heart pounded in her chest and she felt as though all of the oxygen in the air had evaporated making breathing very difficult. "Is this true Miss Weasley? And if it is, who were you going out to see?" Ginny didn't answer, her voice failing her. "Please cooperate, Miss Weasley. These are serious accusations, you need to answer to them, and now is preferable. If you talk to me, you can avoid an inquiry by the Headmaster and the other professors. Ginny, I don't think you want it to come to that."  
"Professor," Ginny said slowly. "I can't lie to you, I have been sneaking out." McGonagall sighed, looking disappointed. "But I can't tell you who I've been with. They don't need to be involved."  
"Whoever it is is already involved Ginny," McGonagall said sadly. "And you're going to have to face the faculty about it tomorrow." 


	7. Goodbye To You

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any characters contained within this story, J. K. Rowling does, and she kicks ass, so I wouldn't steal her stuff from her.  
  
Chapter 7: Goodbye To You  
  
"Severus, I don't know why you wanted to meet with me, we really shouldn't be together at all right now; it's too dangerous!" Ginny whispered hurriedly as she was pulled into the empty classroom by her clandestine lover. "I am planning on telling the professors absolutely nothing, so if they see you and me together that will look awfully suspicious."  
He looked deeply into her eyes, their usual carefree glow hardened by determination and resolution to keep their secret hidden. His hands clasped on her shoulders, he pulled her to him and kissed her deeply, he felt her body surrender to him completely.  
"Ginny," he said softly as he pulled back from her. "Ginny, I want you to know that I love you. I may act like a git and scream at your brother and his friends, but that's not really who I am, and you're one of the few people that actually know this."  
She smiled warmly at him and reached up to stroke his cheek. "I love you too, Severus. And I promise that no one will know after the meeting today. If I go down, I go down alone. I don't want to hurt you in any way."  
Snape took her hand and brought her over to a desk and sat her down. He sat opposite her and held her hands tightly, looking into her eyes, searching for the words to express himself.  
"I don't really know how to say this, Ginny, so I'm just going to do it," he said, clearing his throat.  
Ginny was beside herself. After the entire Hermione and Draco episode, was Snape really ready to pledge his love forever to her? Her eyes lit up like the trees at the Christmas feast as Snape squirmed on his desk.  
"We.I.you have to understand me, Ginny," he fumbled. The usually eloquent professor seemed to be completely devoid of vocabulary. "I do love you.but."  
Her lips pursed at the "but." She hated when he said that.  
"But," he continued to stutter. "I can't be with you anymore."  
The world fell away and Ginny felt as if she was in an empty dark room, completely alone and cold as ice. It reminded her of the feelings the dementors brought to Hogwarts in her second year. Her mouth hung open, but no sounds would come, her mind a complete blank and yet racing with a thousand questions and outrages.  
"You really have to understand, Ginny," he said, trying to get through her betrayed expression. "This is all for your own good, I've brought you nothing but trouble, and humiliation. If the professors find out about us this afternoon."  
"You would be disgraced," she spat, suddenly finding a voice through the din and darkness of her mind. "So this is how you treat someone you love. I would always wonder as I sat in class in my first few years. I would think, 'Does love ever penetrate that cold and hard exterior? Is there something better in him?'"  
Snape's eyes grew wide. "That's not what this is about!" he said quickly, squeezing her hands.  
Realizing he was still touching her, she pulled her hands away bitterly and slid her desk back from him. Tears formed in her eyes and she could feel the sobs beginning to take over her entire body. "It was all a lie," she whispered hoarsely through her tears. "All you ever wanted was a good fuck, and now that it's inconvenient for you, it's time to drop the stupid naive girl, isn't it?"  
He didn't speak or move.  
"ISN'T IT?" she shouted.  
"No!" he retaliated. "That's not what we were about Ginny. I just think that since I can't be with you and support you in the way you deserve that you should be free to meet and love someone who can give you what you need."  
Her eyes flashed flames at him; she had never been more enraged and empty in her life. "How dare you try to tell me what I need and what I want!" she said. Tears began to fall down her cheeks freely as she abandoned hopes of him not seeing her cry. "Last time I checked I made my own decisions."  
"And those decisions are about to get you kicked out of school if you're tied back to me this afternoon, Ginny!" Snape said, trying to get her to calm down and talk rationally. "I'm just trying to help you."  
"BULL SHIT!" she cried. "All you want is to help yourself. If your image or your job is threatened you abandon me when, if you really did love me, you would be clinging to me and supporting me unconditionally. You make me sick, and I make myself sick for ever thinking that you loved me.  
  
"But I do love you!" he said. He got up off of his desk and walked over to her, kissing her.  
She writhed away from his touch and spat on the floor as she wiped her mouth on the sleeve of her robes. "Don't you ever touch me again, you lying arse. If you do, I will curse you and every unlucky bitch you fuck after me."  
His heart fell; this wasn't how it was supposed to have gone. She was supposed to understand, to return his love, and to insist that they stay together, no matter what, as she had always done. But there she was, his perfect Ginny, the light in his life and the love he had never known and never cared to find in anyone but her, glaring menacingly at him. He was sure she was thinking of the worst charm or curse she had learned to use against him.  
"Ginny," he began feebly. It was all he could muster as she turned and walked out of the door, not looking back.  
Ginny ran as fast as her wobbling legs could carry her towards the Gryffindor tower, ignoring Filch and McGonagall's requests for her to walk and mind other individuals in the corridors. She had never felt so betrayed, hurt, empty, and angry in all of her life, and the man she thought she loved, the man she was going to an inquisition in a matter of hours for, was responsible for all of it.  
As she crawled through the portrait hole, she spotted Hermione sitting in an overstuffed chair catching up on some of her reading. She looked up at the girl who was frantically trying to get in. "Gin, what's wrong?" Hermione said, shutting her book and furrowing her brow in concern.  
When she was standing inside the common room, Ginny burst into tears and fell to her knees. Hermione jumped up from her chair and ran to her, stroking her hair and handing her tissues as fast as she could grab them from the box.  
"What on Earth happened?" Hermione asked, helping Ginny up and leading her to her private bedroom. When they were inside, Hermione placed Ginny on the bed and began to rub her back soothingly.  
"It's over," Ginny said through her sobs. Hermione looked at her unsurely. "He said that he couldn't give me what I deserved and that this whole fiasco with my sneaking out was going to link us together and get us both in trouble."  
Hermione's jaw dropped in shock. "That's impossible! He loves you Ginny!"  
Ginny sniffled. "Yeah, that's what he kept saying. 'Ginny I love you' blah blah blah! It was all lies, Hermione, all of it. I feel so used and violated. I really thought I loved him."  
Hermione wiped away a stray tear from Ginny's nose. "It sounds like you still do."  
"He abandoned me when I needed him the most," Ginny said. She had stopped crying, but her fiery rage was beginning to show. "He only wanted to save his own skin, so he couldn't be tied to a minor and couldn't get himself fired. I should have seen it coming; he's a lying bastard, just like everyone thinks."  
Hermione kept her mouth shut, she knew better than to voice her opinions when Ginny was angry, especially when those opinions were in Snape's favor. She glanced at her alarm clock and turned to Ginny. "Don't you have to meet with the professors in a half an hour?" she asked quietly.  
Ginny looked at the clock and groaned loudly. "Yes," she huffed, standing up. "I really wish I didn't have to go and see him right now. Hopefully I'll be able to keep myself in check." She curled her hands into fists which, Hermione noticed, turned her knuckles very white.  
"Just remain calm and stick to your resolutions," Hermione said taking Ginny's hand and giving it a good luck squeeze. "I know everything will work out for the best, it always does."  
Ginny threw her arms around Hermione's neck and gave her a huge hug. "Thanks," she said and walked out of the room to get herself cleaned up.  
Her mind in frustration and worry, Hermione sat down on her bed, rubbing her temples. She didn't feel that there was any way that no one would get hurt in this situation, no matter what happened. She was so deep in thought that she almost didn't hear the faint knock on her door. "Come in," she called.  
Harry walked in with a puzzled expression on his face. "Um, Mione, Draco's outside the portrait hole waiting for you," Harry said as he leaned into the door. "It looks like he's got something pretty major going on, he's really fidgety."  
Hermione stood up and walked out of the door. "Thanks Harry," she said and he closed the door behind her. She climbed out of the portrait hole and met Draco, pacing along the corridor. He looked up as he heard the portrait swing shut. "What's up?" Hermione asked.  
Draco hugged her tightly and kissed her. "I just received an owl from my mother," he said slowly.  
"Have you been put back in the will?" Hermione chuckled.  
He looked at her gravely. "My father's dead," he said flatly. Hermione stepped back, her mouth agape and her eyes wide. "He was yelling at someone who had gotten in his way down in Knockturn Alley and apparently it was a very strong dark wizard who was in league with You-Know-Who and was not at all pleased with my father for having abandoned him after his fall. He performed a fatal curse on him right in the middle of the street."  
His eyes were hollow and his tone was flat. Hermione couldn't do or say anything from shock. They stood there, looking at each other but past each other, both stunned and baffled by the news. Hermione was the first to move, taking a step towards Draco and throwing her arms around him. "I'm so sorry," she managed to say.  
She felt something cold and wet on her shoulder and she realized that Draco was crying into her shoulder. His body was racked with heavy sobs and he clutched Hermione tightly, afraid that if he let go she would disappear into oblivion forever. "He wasn't a very nice person, or father," Draco's muffled voice came from her shoulder. "But I never wanted him to die. He was still my father, whether or not I got an inheritance or if I was allowed to keep his last name."  
Hermione winced at his sentiment of love for his father. To be truthful, Lucius Malfoy had been icy and malicious to the Weasleys, Harry, and herself from the first time they met. He wasn't exactly the greatest loss to the wizarding world, but he was Draco's father, and for that reason alone she had to be upset.  
Draco pulled himself from her shoulder and wiped his eyes quickly, not wanting anyone other than Hermione to know that he had been crying. "My mother wrote that she wants me to come out to the manor and see her; you know, get things in order."  
Hermione nodded and reached out to stroke her thumb against his cheek.  
"She wants you to come out too," he said quickly.  
At this Hermione was taken aback. Was she, Hermione Granger the mudblood, being invited to Malfoy Manor to meet Draco's mother? She was sure that Draco had read the letter wrong. "Are you serious?" she asked him.  
"Yup," he said regaining his composure. "Mum wants to meet you." He noticed the puzzled expression on Hermione's face. "Don't worry; she's much different than Father."  
From what Hermione had seen and heard, that was not the case. Narcissa Malfoy was reputed as equally icy and evil as her late husband, turning a cold shoulder to her son and anyone else. She always struck Hermione as the perfect match for Lucius; same hair, eyes and even turned up nose, a good way, in Hermione's opinion, to keep those traits in the Malfoy family.  
"You will come, won't you?" Draco asked. "It would mean a lot to me and Mum." He took Hermione's hands and looked pleadingly into her eyes.  
She sighed and kissed Draco. "Fine," she conceded. "But if I have to miss class there'll be hell to pay!" 


	8. True Colors

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any characters contained within this story, J. K. Rowling does, and she kicks ass, so I wouldn't steal her stuff from her.  
  
Chapter 8: True Colors  
  
Harry hugged Ginny tightly. "Don't worry, Gin, everything's going to be fine," he said, faking a smile at the ashen faced girl. "They'll give up eventually. They always have with me."  
Ginny was wringing her hands and pacing about the common room. She had only half an hour before her "trial" with the professors, including Snape. "It doesn't feel like anything is going to be ok, Harry," she said forlornly. "There's no way that I can beat the system, they already know that I've been sneaking out. I'm going to be expelled for sure."  
"Nah, you're a Weasley," Ron said punching her arm lightly. "Weasleys get into a lot of trouble, but we always manage a way out." Ron and Ginny smiled weakly at each other. They both knew none of the Weasleys had ever been in this much trouble before.  
Hermione stood up from the couch and held Ginny's shoulders. "Remember, stick to your resolutions and keep a consistent story," she said calmly, showing the girl by example. "They don't want to see you in trouble Ginny, don't give them a reason not to trust you." She gave her a quick hug.  
Ginny looked at the clock. "I should get a move on," she said, her face turning a shade of green that was wholly unnatural. "If I'm sick maybe they'll show mercy." She gave the group a weak smile as she walked out of the common room.  
Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion; her feet carrying her down the corridor, the sound of her shoes clicking, her heart pounding in her chest. It all felt like a horrifying scene that she was watching instead of being a part of.  
When she reached Dumbledore's office, Professor McGonagall was standing outside waiting for her. "Come along, Miss Weasley," she said quietly to the girl. Ginny hung her head in shame. She didn't feel that he was worthy of her secrecy or trust, but she gave her word all the same, and that was as good as ten thousand galleons. McGonagall stopped before they went into the chamber in which the professors were waiting. "Please Ginny; I don't want to see anything happen to you. Give up whomever it is you are protecting."  
Ginny's face remained stalwart and fixed. McGonagall sighed and led her into the office. "Good morning, Professors," Ginny said as she walked in.  
They all nodded at her.  
"Now Miss Weasley," Dumbledore spoke up immediately. "I do not want to be here, holding an inquisition for your knowledge. This is your last chance, if you want I will take you in private and you can tell me who you were going to meet and everything will be handled quietly."  
Snape held his breath as Ginny looked from Dumbledore to Snape to the ground. "I won't give the person up," she whispered as she began to wring her hands again. "I'm sorry."  
McGonagall's face puckered more than usual. "Ginny," she said very exasperated. "This is not Potter and his friends going out to save the world. These are serious violations of school policy that you have admitted to already. You had no business being out that late meeting someone. We can't just let you off completely free."  
Professors Sprout, Binns, Hooch, Hagrid, and Trelawney looked helplessly at Ginny. She knew that the rules stood and that she had no pressing earth-shattering reason to be about the castle late at night. But still, Ginny said nothing.  
Dumbledore looked to Professor Snape. "You've been awfully quiet, Severus," he said knowingly. "Is there anything you would like to ask Miss Weasley?"  
Snape looked guiltily at Dumbledore and cleared his throat. "Why, Miss Weasley," he began, his voice breaking. "Are you protecting this person? Why is he or she worthy of your trust?"  
Shooting him a look of disgust, Ginny folded her arms across her chest. "The person isn't worthy of my trust," she snapped. "Not anymore at least. But I gave them my word, and that means a lot. You have to understand that. I have no more business with the person I was meeting."  
"Well that is too bad," Dumbledore said, stroking his long beard. "It seems a shame for you to have to suffer the consequences of the actions of two by yourself. Hopefully you will have learned to put the rules before something fleeting."  
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Believe me, I learned it."  
"That's enough!" Snape roared standing up. Ginny's eyes grew wide as she stared at him. "You have been nothing but rude and snide since you have walked into this room. Your disrespect towards these professors has been unacceptable."  
Her eyes bored holes into his soul.  
He stepped back and sighed. "And it's been my entire fault." The professors all turned to look at Snape. "I was the person Ginny was sneaking out to meet." Snape hung his head.  
"Well then," Hagrid said cheerfully. "If she was jus' gettin' some tutorin' then there shouldn't be a problem!"  
Ginny bowed her head in a deep blush and McGonagall looked at Hagrid sternly. "Oh." he said, feeling ridiculous.  
"I wasn't going to tell," Ginny hissed at Snape.  
Snape walked in front of the professors. "I know, and that's why I had to speak up. Ginny and I have been seeing each other for quite some time now," he confessed. McGonagall looked at him in horror and Dumbledore sat back, looking quite amused. "I broke it off this morning to save her pain, but it was too late. But we are in love, and I'm sorry that it all had to come to this." He walked to Ginny and took her hand. "I do love you," he said, looking into her eyes.  
She looked down at the ground. "You ruined everything," she whispered to him. "You couldn't even let me save your lousy arse. Why did you think you could pull off what Draco did with Hermione?"  
He was dumbfounded. He expected that his confession and bold move in front of the professors would win her back, but her coldness left him baffled.  
"Well well," Dumbledore said, rising from his chair. "I'm glad that you've found love Professor, and with such a wonderful young woman."  
Ginny's heart pounded in her chest. Could it be? Were they going to go easy on them?  
"However," Dumbledore continued. Ginny's heart fell into the pit of her stomach.  
"Rules are rules, and seeing how this was not a life-threatening situation, punishments will have to be made." Dumbledore looked at Snape. "You have been the most talented potions master that Hogwarts has seen in two hundred years, Severus." Snape looked at the ground. "It pains me to do this, but, you will take your things at the end of the winter term and leave this school."  
Snape's jaw dropped to the floor. "You're firing me?" he gawked.  
Dumbledore bowed his head. "I have no other choice, Severus. This is very bad business and you have broken a cardinal rule. I'm sorry. I hope you will find gainful employment elsewhere and quickly. The term ends in two weeks as you know."  
Shocked and horrified, Snape bowed to Dumbledore and the other professors. "I am very sorry for all that has taken place. I will leave now and begin to pack my things."  
"You have not waited for Miss Weasley's punishment," Dumbledore said, stopping him in his tracks. "If you love her so much, you might want to be around to comfort her in a few moments."  
Ginny's knees began to shake. She was thankful that she was sitting down; she knew she would not have been able to hold herself up otherwise. A thin layer of perspiration began to form on her brow as her nerves went crazy.  
"Miss Weasley, you have proven to be one of the most promising witches in your class and in the school. That is why it is with a very heavy heart that I must expel you," Dumbledore said quietly.  
Tears began to stream down Ginny's face and her lip quivered uncontrollably. "I.I." she tried to squeak out, but the sounds were caught in her throat.  
"Albus please," McGonagall pleaded. She saw in Ginny's eyes the hurt and confusion. "She is still a child, unaware of what she was doing, blindly following love. I believe that punishment must still be given, but please, spare her and her family expulsion. She is one of the hardest working students in Hogwarts; I believe only Miss Granger puts in more hours than Ginny does."  
Dumbledore thought on it for a moment, considering the pleading looks of the professors and the blank stare present on Ginny's face. "Fine," he said finally. "From the end of the winter term, Miss Weasley will be suspended for exactly one year to return where she left off in the spring of the next year."  
McGonagall smiled as did Snape and the other professors. Dumbledore winked at Ginny as she began to slowly rise from her chair. "Thank you, Professors," she said looking at each of them in turn, except for Snape. "Thank you for your mercy and kindness. I really do not deserve it."  
Dumbledore smiled. "If you did not deserve it, my girl, then why would I give it?"  
Ginny smiled weakly and exited the room, walking briskly past Snape. "Ginny," he said, catching up to her. "Please, I'm sorry for everything." He grabbed her arm and turned her to face him.  
"Don't ever come near me again," she spat. "I don't know what I ever saw in you, and I never want to see it again." She wretched her arm away and tore off down the corridor, tears streaming down her face.  
Snape stood in the corridor, watching her go. "I'm sorry that it had to end this way, Severus," Dumbledore said from behind him. "But it does seem that you hurt her in more ways than one."  
"You don't know anything about what I did to her today," Snape said hollowly. He didn't even have emotion left in him to cry or scream or even use a charm to blow something up.  
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he began to walk down to the Slytherin common room. "Everything always works out for the best, Severus. Just have some confidence in that fact."  
Snape just stalked off to his dungeon to pack. 


	9. Malfoy

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any characters contained within this story, J. K. Rowling does, and she kicks ass, so I wouldn't steal her stuff from her.  
  
Chapter 9: Malfoy  
  
Dumbledore approached the Slytherin common room, but before entering he pulled a piece of parchment from his robes, opened it and glanced at the writing. He nodded his head in approval and told his password that let him enter any common room to the portrait that guarded the entrance.  
He was almost plowed into by Draco, who had been adjusting his scarf as he was making his way to the common room exit. "Headmaster!" Draco said, startled as he looked up to see Dumbledore standing at his eye level.  
  
"Hello Draco," he said. "I have something that I would like for you to deliver to your mother on your trip." Dumbledore took out the piece of parchment again and handed it to Draco.  
Draco raised an eyebrow and pocketed the parchment. "Anything you ask."  
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Thank you," he said turning to walk out of the room with Draco. "I trust you will get it to her before an owl would at this point. It is snowing awfully hard."  
Draco smiled weakly and looked at the ground as the walked down the corridor. "Headmaster, I want to thank you," he said. Dumbledore's eyes made their way to the ground as well. "I mean, for letting Hermione and I go to my mother, and for, well, everything. You have more than proven yourself to me."  
"Now Draco," Dumbledore said, stopping and looking up. "Proof is in the eye of the beholder."  
Draco looked up and turned to see Dumbledore, but he was already down the corridor. He shook the eerie feeling and began to walk towards the Gryffindor common room where Hermione was waiting for him.  
"What could he have meant? Proof is in the eye of the beholder?" he whispered to himself as he walked up a flight of stairs.  
"Not everyone is what they seem," a voice floated down to him. He looked up quickly to see Hermione walking down the steps towards him. "Faced with what seems like undeniable evidence, some people still don't believe. Some people believe when they shouldn't. People see what they want to."  
Draco smiled unsurely. "Yeah, I guess so." He paused and looked at her. "I think we'd better get going; we have a long train ride ahead of us once we get off the grounds."  
She kissed him and looked him in the eyes. "Don't be so nervous, she's just your mother." Hermione took a gloved hand and brushed his cheek softly. "You're the one who told me she didn't bite"  
He laughed at this and took her hand as the walked towards the carriage that would take them to the train station. It was snowing hard and the carriage lurched as the horses tried to make their way against the wild wind. Draco's mind floated to the piece of parchment that was hidden in his robes. Should he look at it? What did Dumbledore have to say to his mother? Did he know anything? He looked at Hermione who appeared lost in her own thoughts as they approached the station.  
They got on the train headed towards King's Cross Station where Narcissa Malfoy, or one of her employees, was waiting to pick Draco and Hermione up. Hermione's mind was on fire with doubt and questions about this meeting. She was about to meet the wife of, in her opinion, the most powerful Death Eater and employee of the Ministry of Magic. Lucius was notorious for his hatred of non-purebloods and had passed many of his traits onto Draco. Draco had been able to overcome the grip of his father, but Narcissa? She had been under his control constantly for longer than she or Draco had been alive. Although Draco had told her that there was nothing to worry about, she couldn't banish the feeling in the pit of her stomach.  
When she looked over at Draco she realized he was scowling slightly. "What's wrong?" she asked, leaning over and touching his knee tenderly. Concern etched her face as he squirmed slightly.  
He shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I'm just nervous. This is the first time I'm going to be home without Father." Draco looked out the window. "I'm happy that Mother and I are free, but he was still my father. I just don't know what to think and I don't know what state my mother will be in. As horrible as this sounds and as happy as I am to have you here for moral support and to meet my mother, I almost wish you weren't coming so I could assess life at Malfoy Manor first, you know?"  
Hermione was taken aback. How could the man who she's supposed to marry not want her to come with him in this trying time? Her indignant reaction gave way to understanding as the concept of a household completely askew and out of control came to her mind. This was going to be a huge change for Draco and she was going to put something false on the family dynamic. He won't have to deal with the issue as long as she's there.  
"Draco, I'm only staying for a little while," Hermione said.  
"What? Why?" he stammered. His eyes were wide and he took her hand. "I need you Hermione! Please don't leave me there alone."  
She looked him in the eyes and squeezed his hand. "You need to face it on your own. I'll meet your mother, maybe have dinner, but you need to stay and work things out about your father. I can't be there for that and you know it."  
Draco looked down. "I know."  
The train rolled to a stop at King's Cross and Hermione and Draco grabbed their bags and stepped off the train to see Narcissa Malfoy waiting for them. Her features had softened; she no longer looked as angled as she had at the Quidditch World Cup and her nose no longer pointed in the air. Hermione could tell that there was just the faintest hint of grey in her white blond hair as well.  
Narcissa smiled warmly as she saw her son. "Draco!" she called holding out her arms. Her arms enveloped him as he drew near to her. "Oh, I'm so happy that you're here Draco. It's been so lonely around the house since you've been gone." She let him go and looked at Hermione. To Hermione's surprise, Narcissa's smile grew larger and she grabbed Hermione in a strong hug. "My future daughter-in-law. I'm so happy to finally meet you!"  
"It's great to finally meet you too, Mrs. Malfoy," Hermione said pulling out of the constricting hug. She looked over at Draco who was beaming. Narcissa's welcome may have just made his lifetime.  
Narcissa smiled. "Please, that sounds so formal, call me Narcissa." Hermione smiled politely.  
The threesome walked to the car where the Malfoys' driver was waiting to take them to Malfoy Manor. As they pulled up, Hermione was awed at the sheer size of the property. The large house looked as though it was something straight out of Rome with large cast-iron gates with large M's on the front. "Your house is gorgeous," she whispered, her eyes wide.  
Narcissa nodded in thanks. "I was thinking if you wanted you could have the ceremony and reception on the grounds. There's obviously plenty of room for a few hundred guests. It's entirely up to you though."  
Hermione gasped at this. "We haven't really done any planning yet, Narcissa. Draco and I will certainly consider the option though."  
They went into the house, which was, if at all possible, more beautiful than the outside. Narcissa gave Hermione a tour, showing her all of the places that could be conducive to the wedding, which Hermione and Draco hadn't even thought of setting a date for.  
When they sat down to dinner, though, the conversation turned to a more serious note. The subject of Lucius had finally arisen. "It's too bad your father won't be able to see the wedding," Narcissa said, raising a spoonful of soup to her mouth.  
Draco frowned. "You know he hated Hermione. He disowned me a week ago! I don't think he would have been thrilled to see the wedding."  
Hermione squirmed in her seat. She didn't enjoy the turn the conversation was beginning to take. "I am sorry that no reconciliation was made though," she offered to mother and son. "I'd like to hope that he would have come around eventually."  
Narcissa sighed. "Draco's probably right. Lucius was cold and selfish. He couldn't even be loyal to You-Know-Who when it wasn't convenient for him." Hermione had to keep her mouth from hanging open like a fish. "That was just Lucius."  
"I guess I can't really argue," Hermione said softly. "You knew him better than I did obviously." She wiped her mouth with her napkin daintily and placed it back down on her lap. She wrought her hands nervously under the table.  
"He was rotten to you, Hermione, admit it," Draco said, standing up.  
  
Hermione stood up as well, trying to maintain her composure. "Yes, he was. You know he was, I know he was, practically the entire world knows he was. But I don't want to dishonor his memory, especially not in front of your mother!" Hermione's face went pink and she sat back down nervously.  
Narcissa smiled. "Believe me; he was rotten to Draco and me as well. You dishonor nothing by telling the truth."  
Hermione looked at her, disbelief spreading across her face. Her blush deepened and she looked at her watch. "My goodness, its getting late," she said standing up and placing her napkin across her empty plate. "I must excuse myself and head back to Hogwarts. My taxi will be arriving soon. I do apologize for cutting my visit so short."  
"I'm very sorry too dear," Narcissa said standing as well. She looked disappointed as she approached Hermione. "Maybe on your next visit we'll get to chat alone and discuss some of the wedding plans. How does that sound?"  
"Wonderful," Hermione beamed.  
Narcissa hugged her tightly and released her to Draco. "Goodbye, Mione," Draco said kissing her forehead. "I'll miss you terribly."  
Hermione blushed. "I'll miss you too, Dear." She kissed him deeply and wrapped herself around him. "Talk to your mother," she whispered almost silently into his ear before she released him.  
The taxi honked outside. Draco nodded and kissed her again. "Thank you for coming!" Narcissa called out to her as she got into the car.  
Hermione waved. "Thank you for your hospitality!"  
As the taxi sped out of sight Narcissa turned to Draco. "Come in," she said coldly and swept around into the foyer. "We have much to discuss now that she's gone."  
Draco and Narcissa sat in the living room and waited as their new house elf brought them some tea. "Yes, Mother," Draco said taking a sip of the hot liquid and letting it burn his throat. "What do you need to discuss?"  
She glared icily at him. "You know very well what needs to be discussed." She sipped her tea and regained her calmer demeanor. "Everything seems to be setting up nicely. You and Hermione are getting on very well indeed. I trust everyone's opinions of you have changed drastically?"  
"You don't even know the half of it," he muttered under his breath. She shot him a look. "Yes, everyone's been quite receptive to the change." He glared down into his cup, willing it to shatter and send the dark tea all over the white room. As his anger subsided he looked up at Narcissa. "Who killed Father?"  
"I did," she said shortly. "That was the most important part of the plan, you don't really think I'd let someone else foul it up, would you?" She took another sip. "Yes, a few days after your encounter with him I thought it would be safe to act. Any sooner and the two incidents might have seemed connected. Naturally I didn't want to have to wait any longer than necessary to solidify my relationship with the girl."  
Draco's jaw flexed. "Hermione. Her name is Hermione." Narcissa waved her hand in indifference. "And I'm starting to think that this isn't a very good idea."  
Narcissa froze; her eyes darted to Draco's and held him. "Your father, one of the greatest servants of Lord Voldemort has been sacrificed for this mission!"  
"He didn't ask for it!" Draco shouted. "No one in their right minds would believe that our family is all lovey dovey and pink flowers now that Father is gone! They're going to suspect me no matter who I'm married to or how far under the ground Father is!" He began to pace the room.  
She slammed down her teacup so hard that it cracked, spilling tea out onto the floor. Draco felt slightly better. "The plan goes on. We have worked too hard to get our Dark Lord regenerated and he will have Harry Potter." She leaned in close to him. "And I don't care who you have to kill or fuck to get him."  
Draco seethed and turned to walk out the door, but he remembered Dumbledore's parchment. Seizing it from his robes, he threw it at Narcissa. "Condolences from Dumbledore, I'm sure," he spat. "Maybe he sees through you, Bitch."  
As he slammed the door behind him Narcissa resisted the urge to use Avada Kedavra and be rid of the useless slime too, but she settled for picking up the parchment. Her eyes scrolled down the paper and gasped when she read:  
  
Mrs. Malfoy,  
I am terribly sorry about the loss of your husband,  
Lucius. He was a powerful man and a force to be reckoned with.  
I have the highest hopes, though, that Draco will not  
follow in the footsteps Lucius has left behind in the more,  
undesirable parts of his private life. I will therefore ask you to  
keep him out of your latest plot to overthrow myself and the Ministry  
of Magic on behalf of Lord Voldemort. It is very unbecoming of such a  
young gentleman such as Draco.  
Sincerely,  
Albus Dumbledore 


	10. Life's Tough Questions

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any characters contained within this story, J. K. Rowling does, and she kicks ass, so I wouldn't steal her stuff from her.  
  
Chapter 10: Life's Tough Questions  
  
He sat alone by the light of a single candle. The potions classroom was the only place that he felt safe; at ease; at home. Whenever he needed to clear his mind, he would go down there and sit in his seat, mulling over the issue at hand. That night it didn't seem to help.  
Loyalty, family, love; what did it all mean? What could he do to change the destiny that would inevitably come to pass? He had changed so much; she had changed so much; life changed the rules just when he thought he had it all under control. And now all he could think was that the plan had gone horribly wrong; the worst possible turn of events had occurred.  
All he wanted was to live up to his family's name; to represent the Malfoys for generations to come. But this way, his mother's way, was ludicrous. Sacrificing an innocent for power and greatness wasn't his way.  
  
Although, she was by no means an innocent. She was one of the thorns in Lord Voldemort's side, the brains behind all of Potter's loony schemes, the cool and levelheaded voice of reason to so many. His mother was right to single her out. He would have picked the Weasley girl; she was an innocent, a way to pluck their heartstrings. No, she was right; Hermione was indispensable to their cause, the only option, the one he could seduce and debilitate Potter and friends with.  
Draco stood up and clenched his fists and jaw. "Why did she pick me?" he screamed at the top of his lungs. Lashing out, he kicked the table, sending it slamming into the back wall. He seethed in anger and frustration, closing his eyes to keep himself from pulling out his wand and blowing something up.  
e heard footsteps echoing down the corridor outside the dungeon room and the door creaked loudly as it opened. "What on earth is going on here Draco?" Snape shouted as he saw him standing there, red-faced and breathing deeply.  
Nothing," Draco said, trying to calm himself. "Nothing at all, just letting out a little anger." He pulled out his wand and returned the table to its original spot on the floor in front of him. "I'm sorry for making so much noise, Professor."  
nape sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "No matter," he mumbled to himself. "Just letting off some anger of my own; ridiculous rules."  
I'm sorry, Professor, about what Dumbledore did to you," Draco said, his face dropped and his ears turned slightly pink. "It was entirely unfair of him to fire you. You are the only indispensable member of the faculty and the Slytherin House will be worse without you."  
Snape snickered and swept up to his desk. "I broke the rules; Dumbledore took appropriate actions against myself and the girl." Draco's eyes widened at Snape who stared blankly past him. "She's been suspended for a year's time at the end of term." Snape rubbed his temples. "And it was entirely for my own indiscretions."  
"You," Draco stuttered. "And a. a. student?" He approached Snape's desk quietly and sat in a chair that he drew up so he looked Snape in the eyes. "Professor, might I be so bold as to ask who it was?"  
Snape sneered at Draco and practically growled. "Well, considering the rate at which gossip spreads at this school, I'm sure you'll find out anyway." He looked at Draco and sighed. "It was Ginny Weasley."  
"Weasel's sister!" Draco cried.  
"I would thank you to be a bit more polite towards her considering you are practically marrying into her family!" Snape barked at him. "And I would think you had more respect for me than to insult the woman I love by not calling her by her given name!"  
Draco fell silent. After a few moments he looked at Snape who was rubbing his temples again. "You love her?" he asked timidly.  
"Once again, if you must know, yes, I do love her," Snape said standing up to leave the room. "We are no longer together, so I will ask you not to spread any unnecessary rumors for her sake and mine. I will be leaving now, and I think you should as well so as not to ruin my classroom for my successor."  
Snape left the room with a flourish. Draco sat in his chair still, pondering what he had just heard. Snape in love with a Weasley. It was almost as absurd as his being in love with a mudblood. He stood to leave and collected himself before he exited the room. "What is this world coming to," he muttered to himself.  
Entirely lost in his thoughts, Draco ran into something on his way up the stairs. As he fell to his knees, all he saw was red hair fall next to him. "Man, you need to watch where you're going!" Ron said rubbing his head that cracked loudly against the marble steps.  
"Sorry," Draco said getting up. "Wasn't really paying any attention."  
Ron stood up after Draco extended his arm in assistance. "Well, neither was I, to be honest." Ron looked down slightly at Draco. "I've got to be off, I've got to see my sister; she just got out of her disciplinary hearing." He began to take off up the stairs towards the Gryffindor common room.  
Draco watched him go, feeling bad on behalf of the entire Weasley family.  
"Truth," Ron said as he reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. The portrait swung open to reveal Ginny, Hermione, and Harry sitting very nervously on separate pieces of furniture, all seeming to avoid each other's gaze. They all looked up as he walked in; an anxious grin spread across Ginny's face. "Does everyone know her fate but me?" he said taking a seat next to her.  
Hermione sat wringing her hands as she turned to face the others. "No, she said she only wanted to tell the story once. Although the way this sounds like its going to play out will warrant telling quite a few people." She looked at Ginny nervously.  
"You're in a lot of trouble, aren't you?" Ron said weakly.  
Tears began to flow down her face at an amazing rate. "Yes," she sobbed. "I've been expelled for one year beginning at the end of the term. I can't come back to Hogwarts until Spring term next year."  
Ron threw his arms around his sister and began to stroke her hair. "Oh, Gin, how on Earth did Dumbledore let this happen?"  
Harry stood up in rage. "He can't do this to you!"  
Hermione stood up and stopped Harry from tearing through the portrait hole. "Yes, he can. He was within all disciplinary rights to do what he did. To tell the truth he could have expelled her for good; had her wand destroyed and everything." Hermione began to stroke Ginny's hair.  
"He did expel me for good," Ginny said brokenly. "Professor McGonagall pleaded with him for me and he reduced my punishment." She cried into Ron's robes, abandoning all hope that she had held in her.  
Harry looked helplessly at her and Ron looked from Harry to Hermione. "Have you told Mum and Dad yet?" Ron said slowly.  
Ginny sat straight up and her eyes grew to the size of beach balls. "No. I don't even want to think of what they'll say. They'll throw me out of the family!" She turned her back on Ron. "You might want to start ignoring me or they'll disown you too!"  
Ron chuckled lightly. "If they still wanted Percy after all the trouble he caused and Fred and George after leaving school, I'm sure they won't throw you out. You're a better student than any of us ever were. They love you, Gin. Getting suspended for a year isn't going to change that. They'll be miffed, sure, but they'll get over it."  
"Thanks Ron," she said, turning back to him and throwing herself into his chest again. "And," she started beginning to regain some of her composure. "The person I was seeing came forward and confessed his involvement and the fact that he loved me in front of the disciplinary council." Hermione gasped throwing her hands to her mouth. "This was of course after he broke up with me right before the meeting 'for my own good.'"  
"I can't believe him!" Hermione gasped. "How could he do that? You were trying to protect him." She sat on Ginny's other side and began to rub her back soothingly. "What happened to him?" she asked tentatively.  
Ginny sat up and looked blankly at her. "He was fired."  
"FIRED?" Ron and Harry yelled together.  
"Who were you seeing?" Ron gasped. "A professor?" He backed off of Ginny in surprise.  
"Severus," she said plainly. "Professor Snape's been fired for his rendezvous with me." She stood up, all of a sudden unsure of her legs.  
Harry and Ron could only stare at Ginny and Hermione, not knowing what to do or say. "I.I." Harry stuttered.  
Hermione noticed Ginny's face go pale. "Ginny!" she yelled as the girl collapsed into her arms. "Oh! Ron, Harry, quick, let's get her into my room!"  
They picked Ginny up gingerly and carried her across the common room to Hermione's room. As they lay her on the bed, Hermione ran into her bathroom and grabbed a cold damp cloth and began to press it onto her forehead. "Should we get Madame Pomfrey?" Harry asked, gently stroking Ginny's hair. He looked at her through worried eyes.  
"No, she's just had a bit of a fainting spell," Hermione said as Ginny's eyes began to flutter. "It's just a little too much for her right now." Ron and Harry stood helplessly at the end of Hermione's bed. "Go, and do whatever you need to do, study or something. I'll take care of her. I think she needs some girl time."  
Reluctantly Harry and Ron left the room, tossing backward glances at Ginny as she began to come around.  
"Gin, are you ok?" Hermione asked her. Her face was an unnatural shade of green and she was sweating profusely.  
Ginny's eyes began to focus as her stomach started lurching. "I need to throw up!" she yelled as she made a mad dash for the toilet. Hermione ran after her, holding her hair back as she heaved into the toilet. She couldn't help it, but the wheels in her head began to turn.  
As she slid away from the toilet and flushed, Hermione stroked her hair and looked at her. The color was beginning to return to her face, but she still looked too sick for nerves. The idea had hit her and she couldn't shake it. She walked over to her medicine cabinet and pulled out a box, looking at it and debating on whether or not to tell Ginny what she thought. "Gin, I've got a test to see what's wrong with you," she said tentatively.  
"What?" she said groggily. "What kind of a test?"  
Hermione handed her the contents of the box, keeping anything important out of sight. "It's a muggle test of sorts. If you're sick, you just pee on this stick and it tells you what you have. It's really accurate." She bit her lip as Ginny examined the apparatus.  
"Ok," she said, hoisting herself up. "Give me a few minutes and I'll be out." Hermione left the bathroom, her stomach in a knot the size of a quaffle. Ginny took her time in the bathroom as Hermione paced back and forth so much that she was sure she would wear a hole in the deep shag carpet of her room. What if her hunch was right? She didn't even want to think about it. What would she tell Mrs. Weasley? The suspension was enough for one lifetime. But a baby? She tried to push it out of her mind, but the thought of Ginny and Snape, happily holding their child kept creeping into her mind. Unfortunately, she knew in her heart that it would never work out that way, it couldn't.  
The door creaked open slightly and Hermione jumped so high she swore her heart stopped. "Gin?" she said shakily.  
"I don't know how to read it," she said, holding it out to Hermione. "There are no words, just lines."  
Hermione held her breath. "Ginny, how many.?" 


	11. Choices

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Harry Potter or any characters contained within this story, J. K. Rowling does, and she kicks ass, so I wouldn't steal her stuff from her…

A/N: Sorry, I don't know what the hell is going on with the commas and quotation marks in the last update… I changed it to html format and it uploaded alright now, but its formatted weird and I don't particularly like it, but at least you can read it now…. Enjoy!

**Chapter 11: Choices**

            A faint cooing noise cut through the silence of the dark room.  Stirring slightly, Draco rolled over and shoved his face into his pillow.  The noise continued.  Growling slightly he opened his eyes and they adjusted to the darkness, finding the source of the sound that disturbed his slumber.

            He noticed an owl sitting on one of his bedposts, cooing softly to wake the sleeping young man.  "Bloody owl," he said yawning widely and signaling the snow white owl to deliver its message.  

            Untying the note, he grabbed his wand and absentmindedly pointed it at the candle next to his bed and muttered a spell that filled the bed with a soft light.  The owl pecked softly at his hand and Draco threw it a treat as he opened his letter with interest.

            As the owl flew from his room, he began to intently read the feminine scrawl that took up only a few lines of the parchment:

Draco,

            My son, we must discuss the important issue at hand since your father's death.  I am sorry that we did not part on good terms after our last meeting, but I pray this one will go more favorably.  Please meet me out in the gardens after breakfast in the morning.

            Sincerely,

            Your Mother

            Draco sighed and rolled over, smothering his face in the pillow once again.  The clock in his room read 6am and he dreaded the meeting that was to happen in only a few hours.  He had tried to block out his duty to his mother and the Dark Lord that he was supposed to serve.  He loved Hermione, plain and simple and he didn't want to jeopardize anything dealing with her.  And as odd as it sounded as the thought ran through his head, he enjoyed Hogwarts, its professors, and to his shock, Dumbledore.  More than ever he knew that this was the world he belonged in, no matter how much brainwashing his parents had imparted upon him in his childhood.  He would fight and die for the wizarding world full of mudbloods and Harry Potter and Weasleys.

            Telling his mother was the catch.  He knew that she had the power to dispose of him at his first sign of weakness.  Look at what she had done to Lucius; he was a Death Eater second to none and she killed him without a sign of remorse.  The only thing Draco had going for him was that he was born from Narcissa.  That had to count for something, didn't it?

            He looked at the clock again, 8am.  Groaning and rubbing his eyes in frustration his climbed out of the bed and got dressed for breakfast.  Since he couldn't sleep he figured he'd get it over with.  His only regret was that Hermione wouldn't be up when he went to the Great Hall; he couldn't say his last goodbye and tell her he loved her.  He knew he would lose her if he did join his mother, or he would die.  There wasn't really a good choice.

            As he finished up what he suspected would be his last meal he exited the Great Hall, running into Harry and Ron.  "Potter, Weasley," he said glumly.

            "Morning Malfoy," Harry said absentmindedly.  He looked at Draco's face, dark circles pronounced under his eyes and his hair wasn't as perfect as it normally looked.  "Is there something the matter?"

            Draco straightened up a little.  "No, no," he coughed.  "I just need the two of you to do me a favor."  Ron and Harry just looked at him.  "Tell Hermione I love her," he continued.  "Please."

            Ron half smiled.  "Sure thing," he said slapping Draco on the shoulder.  "We'll tell her when she gets down for breakfast."

            He smiled in thanks and exited the castle through the main doors.

            "There's something funny going on," Harry said to Ron.  He looked puzzled and pondered the situation for a moment.

            Ron shrugged.  "Wanna follow him?" he said nonchalantly.  

            Harry looked at him and they ran quietly after Malfoy.

            Draco alternated his pace as he walked out to the Hogwarts gardens.  As he would get a burst of adrenaline and finally hold his resolve he would almost jog, but the moment would be fleeting and he would slow to a crawl as he dreaded the meeting with his mother.

            Over the top of a hedge he saw a mane of white hair and for a brief moment he almost expected his father to turn around and call out to him.  But it was his mother's insincere face that turned to greet him.

            "Draco, my darling," her voice dripped as he approached her.  She enveloped him in a tight hug and placed her cheek to his in a fake kiss that was entirely devoid of any emotion.  "How have you been?"

            Rolling his eyes slightly he answered, "I've been better."  Narcissa just smiled her fake smile at him; he assumed trying to win him over one last time.  "What do you want, Mother?" he asked shortly.  "I do have final exams coming up that I need to study for."

            Narcissa's smile vanished so quickly Draco thought that it never existed.  "I will thank you to be a bit more polite to your mother, especially your commander."  She straightened herself, turning her nose up just a little more, a feat Draco thought impossible.  "I need to discuss carrying out our plan, and soon."

            "Mother," Draco started, turning his head away from her and playing with his fingers.

            "Don't start this bleeding heart routine again," she sighed, exasperated.  "I'm sick and tired of this, Draco.  Do you have no backbone?  I thought you were my child."  She stared at Draco, who would not meet her eye.

            Draco said nothing.

            Smiling in satisfaction, Narcissa continued.  "Now, the Death Eaters are prepared to move in when we finally make our move, which should be very soon.  She trusts you; I saw it in her eyes when she came to the house with you.  All you need to do is kill her and then we attack Hogwarts and the Ministry."  Narcissa's eyes began to sparkle as she spoke.  "You'll kill her in a blaze of glory, Draco, for all to see.  And that annoyance will come for you in a rage, but we'll all be ready for him, we will bring him to our Dark Lord to dispose of once and for all."

            Draco, who was staring at the ground during his mother's tirade, began to clench his fists.  Biting down hard he whispered, "No."

            "Excuse me?" Narcissa said, drawing back slightly and looking at her son.

            "You heard me," he said looking up into her eyes.  "No."  The rage and frustration began to boil inside of his heart, mixed with the love he felt towards the pawn in her evil game, giving him the fuel he needed to stand up.  "I will not murder her.  I love Hermione and she is not a pawn in your game, or Lord Voldemort's.  You are not to contact me ever again and you are to abandon this ridiculous plan.  It would never work anyway; do you really think killing her in front of everyone would make them vulnerable?  You are more deluded than Father ever was, and you will pay for murdering him."  

            He looked her up and down with cold eyes.  Her indignant and offended eyes caught his.  "Draco, you don't know what you have just done, but I hope you are prepared to deal with the fatal consequences.  Mark my words, no one will come out of this alive, and the mudblood will be the first to go."

            Her eyes flashed at him and she drew out her wand.  Draco flinched in terror, expecting the Avada Kedavra to kill him at any moment.  But nothing happened.  He slowly opened his eyes and she was gone.

            "You're one lucky bastard," Ron said from behind the hedge.

            Draco jumped and clutched his heart.  Ron and Harry stood up on the other side of the hedge and just looked at Draco in disbelief.  "What in the bloody hell do you two think you're doing here?" he cried.

            Ron picked a twig out of his hair.  "Well, I was about to pop your bitch of a mother," he said matter-of-factly.  "But Harry wouldn't let me."

            Harry shot Ron a look.   Turning back to Draco he began to speak, "I can't believe what I just heard.  And frankly I don't really know if I'm supposed to believe you or your mother.  But you stood up to her pretty well."

            Unable to say anything, Draco wordlessly opened and closed his mouth.  He nodded at Harry and Ron who in turn nodded back in acknowledgement.  "I guess this means we have to stick together on this one, for real," Ron said.

            Harry extended his hand to Draco.  "We fight together," he said as Draco took his hand.  "All three of us."  Ron took their hands as well and an agreement was formed, binding the three eighteen-year-olds.

            "We need to tell Hermione and Dumbledore, and now," Ron said.  He turned to go back to the castle and warn them.

            Draco's eyes widened.  "NO!" he practically yelled.  "We can't tell them.  If they're prepared my mother will know, and she'll come after all of us individually.  She killed my father; you don't understand how dangerous she is."

            Harry looked over his glasses and directly into Draco's eyes.  "You've stood up to her, now you have to go the distance and stop her."

            He opened his mouth to protest, but he knew Harry was right.  How could he say that Potter was right?  What was the world coming to?  Ron and Harry began to head back up to the castle and Draco quickly followed.  "Hermione needs to know first.  I need to tell her.  You need to let me talk to her, to explain, on my own before Dumbledore or anyone else knows.  I can't let her hear any other way."

            Ron and Harry nodded in understanding as they made their way to the Gryffindor common room.  "Wait here," Harry told him as they went in through the portrait hole.  Ron and Harry nervously approached Hermione's room.  "I wonder what's going to happen, Ron," Harry said softly.

            "I don't know, Harry," Ron said stopping at Hermione's door.  "I really don't know.  He reached out and knocked loudly.

            Inside, Hermione jumped and dropped the test Ginny was handing her.  "I…I'm sorry," she said nervously as she went to answer the door.  Ginny bent down to pick up the test and continued to look and the frightened Hermione.

            Hermione opened the door to see Ron and Harry standing there.  "I'm really busy right now guys," she said impatiently with a hint of panic in her voice.  She began to close the door when Harry grabbed it.

            "Draco really needs to talk to you," Harry said desperately.

            "I've got more important issues to deal with here," she said shortly rolling her eyes.

            Ron cleared his throat.  "I really think you want to go to him, Hermione," he said solemnly.

            Her eyes looking at the pair quizzically she called back to Ginny, "I'll be back in a minute, Gin."

            "But Hermione!" Ginny called as Hermione closed the door behind her.

            As Hermione climbed through the portrait hole Draco met her and Harry and Ron disappeared.  "Mione," Draco choked.  "There's something I need to tell you."  Hermione just looked at him impatiently.  He gently took hold of her shoulders and crouched down slightly so he was looking intensely into her eyes.  "Hermione, I began being nice to you two years ago on my mother's orders.  She works for Lord Voldemort, unofficially, and she recruited me to help her pull of an invasion of Hogwarts and the Ministry that would catch everyone's attention and put her at Voldemort's right hand."

            Hermione looked disgusted and pulled back.  "What are you talking about?" she stuttered.

            "Let me finish," he said, reaching out for her.  She pulled back, but he continued his story.  "Anyway, she wanted me to befriend you and make you trust me and fall in love with me.  Then I was supposed to publicly murder you…"  Hermione gasped and her hand flew to her mouth.  "That was supposed to leave everyone vulnerable to attack and the Death Eaters were supposed to come in and take control."  He stopped and looked at the horror and betrayal in her eyes.  Wincing slightly he proceeded, "But in all of the lies and plotting I realized that I really do love you, Hermione.  My proposal was me, not my mother; it was what I wanted for us.  I never really wanted to be part of the plan, but I had family obligations.  My mother was actually the one who killed Lucius; she's power-crazy and murderous.  I stood up to her this morning and swore my loyalty to you and Harry and Ron and Dumbledore.  I love you Hermione, and I want to protect you.'

            She didn't say anything for a few minutes.  All she could do was stare at the Draco that she thought she had known, the Draco who was a fake and a liar.  "How can I trust you now?  You've double-dealed your way through two years of your life, how am I supposed to trust the fact that you're telling the truth now?"  She was close to tears, but willed them to hold back.

            "Please, you just have to trust me," he pleaded.  "The Draco you knew at all those meetings and through our talks, that's the real me.  Please Hermione."

            Turning her back on him and walking to the portrait hole she whispered, "I'm going to have to think about this Draco.  Please don't contact me until I talk to you."  She said the password and walked through the portrait hole, closing it softly behind her.

            "Ok," he whispered to no one.

            "Hermione, what the hell was that?" Ginny said when Hermione re-entered her room.  Her face was vacant and hollow.  "Are you ok?  Is it the test?"  Ginny's eyes widened.

            She had forgotten all about the test.  "Gin, I'm so sorry," she said shaking Draco's words off temporarily.  "About that test."


	12. Dealing

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any characters contained within this story, J. K. Rowling does, and she kicks ass, so I wouldn't steal her stuff from her.  
  
Chapter 12: Dealing  
  
"What the hell does it mean, Hermione?" Ginny pressed. Her voice sounded annoyed, poorly hiding the fear that was caught in her throat. "You're jumping out of your skin, and then you left." She paused. "Is it something serious?"  
Hermione took the test from Ginny and looked at it. Her breath hitched and she pursed her lips. "Um, Ginny, I kind of lied to you about the test," she started. "I mean, it is a muggle test that you use to see if you have something, but it doesn't test to see if you're sick. It tells you if you're pregnant."  
Ginny's mouth fell open as her knees gave out and she sunk to Hermione's bed. "Why didn't you tell me?" she managed to get out.  
"Because I didn't want to alarm you if I was wrong. I thought it could be nerves, but I just couldn't shake this nagging feeling from my mind." Hermione wrung her hands.  
Both girls sat in silence, neither one looking at the other.  
"Well," Ginny finally whispered. "Were you wrong?" She looked up at Hermione, her eyes hollow and expressionless as she waited to hear any words that would ease her mind.  
Hermione looked at her, her own eyes filled with tears. Sniffling slightly she bit her lip. "No, I wasn't."  
A nervous grin played at Ginny's mouth. "Very funny, Mione," she giggled lightly. "Is this one of those Muggle tricks with the cameras and television and everything?" She glanced around the room, looking for someone to pop out and tell her it was all a joke.  
"I'm so sorry," Hermione started. She smoothed her hair back in frustration and sniffled.  
Ginny got up off the bed and started tearing the room apart, looking for a camera or anything that could be recording the conversation for the amusement of the general public. "Hermione, I really don't think that this is funny anymore," Ginny snapped, throwing the sheets off of Hermione's bed. "Why would you do something like this when you know I'm really hurting right now? This is so insensitive of you!" Ginny's words were frantic and punctuated with hiccoughs. She began to run her hands through her hair and down her splotch face, her lips quivering and her entire body shaking.  
Hermione jumped off of her dresser and caught Ginny's hands. "Gin!" she cried. "Ginny, this is for real, I'm not lying! I would never hurt you purposely!" She held tight to Ginny as she thrashed from her grip. "Ginny, you're pregnant."  
At this Ginny stopped and looked up into Hermione's face. Her eyes were bloodshot and filled with unshed tears and her face almost matched the color of her tangled red hair. Her body still shook as Hermione held onto her arms. "No," she whispered hoarsely. She gave one last feeble attempt at escape before she broke into tears and fell onto Hermione's chest, falling into abandon.  
"I can't be, I can't be," she cried hysterically into Hermione. "Not now, not him!"  
Hermione ran her hands gently over Ginny's hair and back, trying to soothe her. "Come on Gin, let's sit on the bed," she whispered into her ear, trying to coax her into moving to a more comfortable place for both of them.  
Still holding onto the sobbing girl, Hermione righted her sheets and sat Ginny and herself down. She cradled Ginny in her arms and she became a child again, needing only a mother to comfort her, but in Mrs. Weasley's absence, Hermione was the next best thing.  
Hermione "there there" and "shhhh baby"-ed Ginny into a calmer state within a few hours and laid her down on the bed, with tear-stained cheeks and her body still quivering slightly. Hermione lay down next to her and looked into her eyes, still stroking her hair soothingly.  
"Hermione," Ginny choked out. "What just happened to me? When did my life turn itself upside down?" Her body was racked with sobs once again.  
She tried to think of an answer that wouldn't upset her. "When did your life turn itself upside down?" Hermione mused, gnawing on her lip in thought. "Ginny, this is a really shitty time in your life, I get that. You're pregnant with Severus' baby." Ginny winced slightly. "And you were just suspended from school for a year. But believe me, there've been people who have gone through worse, and you have friends and family who would give their left arm to see you happy and to make sure you're being taken care of. You might be having a tough time now, and it probably won't get much better for a while, but you will come out ok."  
A faint smile flickered briefly across Ginny's face. "Thanks for that encouragement," she said sarcastically. "There's hope now." She began to wipe the fresh tears from her face and Hermione handed her a tissue. "My parents are coming up to get me in three days, what the hell am I supposed to tell them? Or Ron and Harry?" she panicked, her lip beginning to quiver violently again.  
"Or Snape," Hermione thought aloud.  
Ginny froze completely. "I'm not telling him," she said to Hermione. Her eyes were like stone and her complexion was as white as Hermione's pillows. "He's leaving the school, and so am I. When I come back he'll be who knows where and I won't have to deal with it."  
"Ginny!" Hermione cried, sitting up. "He's the father; doesn't he have some right to know? I'm sure he'd want to be a part of the baby's life, considering he gave up his career to try and save yours."  
"And he had broken up with me only ten minutes before that!" Ginny shouted, sitting up as well. "He doesn't have the maturity level to be a father, and no one would want him around the Burrow. There would only be problems if he knew. He doesn't need that hanging over his head for the rest of his life, and I certainly don't want him to have any negative influence over this child."  
Her face showed anger and resolve, something that Hermione knew better than to argue with, especially in her fragile condition. "Whatever you think is best, Gin," she said accommodatingly. "And you might want to tell your parents and Ron and Harry all at the same time, you know, keep the explanation down to a minimum amount of retellings." Hermione lay back down on the bed and looked up at the ceiling.  
"Yeah, you're right," Ginny said. She looked down at Hermione. "Are you crying?" she asked, surprised. "I'm going to be ok, Mione, you don't have to cry," she smiled. "That should be my job."  
Hermione wiped a quick tear from her eye. "No, no, I'm fine, Gin," she lied.  
Ginny gasped. "This has to do with Draco, doesn't it? That's why you were all freaked out when you came back in!" Ginny lay back down and began to reciprocate the affection Hermione had shown her in her time of need. Her eyes widened as the wheels in her own head were turning. "Those tests!" she whispered excitedly. "You're not pregnant too, are you?"  
"NO!" Hermione practically yelled.  
Ginny jumped back. "Ok then," she said. She resumed stroking her hair. "What is it?"  
She sighed and tried to control the emotion in her voice. "Draco's mother set up a plot for Draco to get me to fall in love with him. He was supposed to kill me and leave everyone vulnerable for an attack on Hogwarts and the Ministry."  
"Are you kidding?" Ginny gasped.  
Hermione sniffled. "I wish." She reached for a tissue and blew her nose. "He told me that this morning he stood up to his mother and told her that he really was in love with me and really wanted to marry me and that the plan was off as far as he was concerned." She paused and began to sob heavily. "I just don't know if I can trust him now."  
Ginny wrapped her arms around Hermione and held her close. "God, today really isn't either of our days," she laughed ironically. "At least your man stood up and did the right thing. I know this is a lot of crap to deal with, and there's a broken trust, but he must mean it, Mione. I mean, you should see the way he looks at you when you don't know it. There isn't a fleck of hatred in those eyes. You are the only person that he ever sees; you are his goddess."  
Hermione grunted and pouted slightly. "I wish I could know for sure."  
"Talk to him," Ginny said. "Talk to Ron and Harry too, see if they know anything about it. And besides, do you think he'd tell you the plan and then still go through with it? You got a good one; he really is doing the right thing."  
"Maybe yours would do the right thing too if you gave him the chance," Hermione said, changing the subject. "He still could do right by you and this baby. You loved him, still love him, whether you admit it or not. There has to be something in there that you saw."  
Ginny scowled and looked intently at Hermione. "I'm not telling him. You will not tell him. I will swear my entire family to secrecy about the father of this child. He will not find out."  
"This is totally not going to work," Hermione said, sitting up again. "If Snape leaves and you leave, of course everyone will know that scandal. This is Hogwarts after all. Then once you have the baby, everyone would have to be pretty damn dense not to put two and two together."  
"But like I said," Ginny said, rolling over and looking at the bathroom, where she had so innocently thought she was taking some test to see if she had the flu not too long before. "He'll be God knows where and he'll never know that the baby exists. End of story."  
"Fine," Hermione said. She got up off of the bed and began to change for a shower. "I won't tell anyone, I promise."  
Ginny got up and righted herself enough to walk to her own shower. "I'm going to go and clean up, Mione," she called into the bathroom where the water started running. "Come and get me if you need anything."  
"Thanks," Hermione yelled from the shower. "Same goes here, except after my shower I'm going to talk to Draco and see what we can make of whatever relationship we're supposed to have."  
Ginny smiled to herself. "Good luck," she whispered hopefully. 


	13. Forgive Me All My Trespasses

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any characters contained within this story, J. K. Rowling does, and she kicks ass, so I wouldn't steal her stuff from her.  
  
Chapter 13: Forgive Me All My Trespasses  
  
Ron and Harry peered out from around a corner. They saw Draco there, head hanging and shoulders drooped. "A perfect picture of a pathetic puppy dog," Ron whispered to Harry.  
Harry glared disapprovingly at Ron. "Come on, we had a truce Ron, you've got to stop mocking him. We won't get anything accomplished if we're fighting and insulting one another." He backhanded Ron's arm.  
"Ouch!" Ron cried through clenched teeth. "I meant, that's he's so lovesick. I wasn't being mean about it!" He rubbed his arm and pouted. "You didn't have to hit me."  
Draco heard the muffled voices. "Harry? Ron?" he called out. "Are you there?"  
The two popped their heads out guiltily, hoping Draco hadn't heard them or thought that they were listening in on his conversation with Hermione. "What happened?" Ron asked with a stupid look of mock ignorance on his face. Harry just rolled his eyes.  
"I think I just got dumped," Draco said. His eyes were wide and bloodshot; full of tears. He ran his hands through his hair, further ruffling his appearance. "I don't know what to do, guys. I. I don't think that I can live without her. Hermione, she's the love of my life." He looked up at Harry and Ron, a look of desperation in his eyes. "You've got to help me get her back," he choked out.  
"There there," Ron said, stepping forward and tentatively patting Draco's back with a stiff arm. "It will be alright," he said haltingly.  
Harry wrenched Ron away from Draco. "I think what you can do to gain her trust back, at least for a start, is to tell Dumbledore about your mother's plan." He walked up to Draco and looked him in the eye. "If there's one thing I learned about Hermione in seven years of friendship, it's that she likes an upstanding heroic guy, one who can stand up in the face of danger for unselfish reasons. Someone that I couldn't be for her." Harry's eyes began to get misty.  
Draco swallowed hard and straightened himself. "You're right. I have to tell Dumbledore and help to put a stop to my mother, and prove to Hermione that I do love her. I'm not like every other blind evil sheep in my family."  
"Good, now let's go!" Ron said emphatically marching off down the hall, hand raised in the air.  
Harry and Draco exchanged looks. "Is he serious?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow.  
"Unfortunately, yes," Harry said hanging his head. "You do remember the Yule Ball get-up."  
Draco laughed and walked with Harry off after Ron towards Dumbledore's office. As their steps drew nearer to the giant statue, the pit that had settled itself in Draco's stomach only began to grow.  
The threesome stopped and Harry said the password, "Earwax."  
As they climbed up the stairs Draco began to have serious second thoughts. "What if he doesn't believe me, Harry? What if he still thinks that I'm in cahoots with my mother?" he began to panic.  
Harry just smiled. "Dumbledore has this uncanny way of seeing the truth about people. I don't think that you have anything to worry about." He knocked importantly on the door to Dumbledore's office only to be met with silence. "That's odd," Harry said, scratching his head. "I wonder where he is."  
"Well, you can't expect me to be in my office at all times, Mr. Potter. I might get a bit hungry, or might even have to supervise a staff meeting or two" Dumbledore's voice came from behind them.  
The three jumped and turned to see the old headmaster smiling behind them. "Professor Dumbledore, I didn't mean that." Harry stuttered.  
Dumbledore smiled. "I know what you meant; I was just joking with you Harry." He continued past them and went into his office. "Are you going to come in? There is obviously something pressing that you need to discuss with me, or you would not be wondering about my whereabouts on this wonderful afternoon."  
They followed him in and Draco broke into a cold sweat. "I," he began, his voice dry and unsure. "I have something I need to tell you, Professor," he said.  
"Well, have a seat, Mr. Malfoy, make yourself comfortable," Dumbledore said taking a seat at his desk and gesturing at a chair for Draco. "You too, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley," he said. The two quickly took seats so as not to interrupt Draco's confession any further. "So, what is it that you would like to speak to me about, Mr. Malfoy?"  
"My mother," Draco said quickly. He began to wring his hands and refused to meet Dumbledore's eyes. "She, well, she's been planning something on behalf of the Dark Lord. She's been planning for a few years now, it involved me, she wanted me to do her dirty work for her, but she did some of it herself and now she wants me to finish it and to take over and have the Dark Lord take her in and take over the world."  
Harry and Ron looked at each other quizzically, not understanding a word of Draco's supposed confession.  
Dumbledore pulled lightly at his long beard. "Let me understand this, Draco," he said slowly. "Your mother wants to get in with Voldemort, correct?" Draco nodded solemnly. "So, she planned for you to seduce Hermione and kill her?" Draco looked up at him questioningly and nodded again. "And she killed your father?"  
"How do you know all this?" Draco asked. "I was speaking nonsense!"  
Dumbledore smiled. "There is always some sense in nonsense." He stood up and crossed the room. "More importantly, is the fact that you refused to do her bidding, and now the plan has gone awry, so we don't really know what to expect, other than an attack."  
Draco nodded, more confidently. "That's what I've been able to discern from this whole mess. I just don't want Hermione to get hurt, I really do love her."  
"This much I know, Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore said. "I don't know what else we can do right now," he changed the subject. "Everyone will be leaving for the holidays I assume? A group trip to the Weasleys' home?"  
Ron looked up puzzled. "I don't remember," he trailed off. Dumbledore just winked at him. "Yeah, sure, group trip to the house! This should be fun with the whole Ginny situation at hand," he said sarcastically.  
"You should know that your family is always full of surprises, Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore said. "And they will be arriving in the morning to bring you all back to your home." Draco looked down. "Yes, you will be going too, seeing as staying here and going back to your house are not options." Draco smiled weakly. "Now, the three of you, get going, I will get in touch when I know more about the situation at hand, and you do the same for me."  
Harry smiled. "We will."  
"You know us, always in the thick of it!" Ron said. The two walked out, leaving Draco for a moment.  
"Thank you," he said. Dumbledore just smiled and Draco ran off to join Harry and Ron.  
All three walked out onto the grounds in the cold sunset. "Look at it, guys," Ron said, looking at the sky. The light blue blended in with the orange and pink of the horizon and the wispy clouds that ran along the sky. "It is one gorgeous night."  
"Sure is," Harry said, lying down on the cold grass. "Makes you forget about all the shit going on."  
Draco laid down next to Harry, looking up into the sky in awe. "It makes you feel like there is something more out there, something controlling all of us, some higher power. You know, something stronger than humans, or creatures, or magic even. Something that transcends the magical and muggle worlds and the differences between purebloods and mudbloods. I want so much to believe that there is something out there making that beautiful sunset for us, making the day a little bit better, giving us some small semblance of hope in this horrible world. Something that's going to make everything alright with Hermione again."  
"Maybe there is something out there," Hermione's voice said, choking, from behind him. Draco whipped around to see her and Ginny standing there indignantly with her arms folded across her chest and tears streaming down her perfect creamy white face. "Maybe there is something that's supposed to be bringing us back together, something that's saying we really are meant to be together forever. Because whatever God there is out there knows that I didn't come out here looking for you and here you are, the first thing Ginny and I come across on our walk. And as hard as I've tried not to all day because you betrayed me in the worst way possible, I still love you with everything that I have and there's nothing that can make it stop hurting."  
Draco was on his knees in front of her, looking up at her tear- stained face, begging forgiveness with his eyes. "I don't know what it will take to get you to trust me again," he began, reaching out to her with his heart. "But if it helps, I told Dumbledore about my mother's plan; he knows, and we're working to protect you; all of us from the Dark Lord. I would never want to hurt you; I couldn't hurt you when it came down to it."  
  
Hermione just looked at him and wiped warm tears from her freezing face.  
"Know that my proposal was real, that was me, Draco, proposing to you, Hermione. And if you want to call it all off, start from scratch, for real, I don't care. I just want you to trust me, and for us to be together again, no matter what it takes."  
Ginny turned to Harry. "Sev was never this romantic!"  
"SHHH!" Ron hissed at them as he waited with baited breath for Hermione to respond to Draco.  
"Well," Hermione began, sniffling and unfolding her arms. "If we broke up now, we wouldn't have any grandchildren to tell this whole misadventure to one day."  
Still on his knees, Draco's face broke into a huge smile as he stood up and took Hermione in his arms and spun her around, her face lighting up, no trace of tears left. "Thank you," he whispered to her. "Thank you for the chance to be with you." He put her back down, her mouth smiling up at him. He leaned in and tasted her lips with a passion and truth that he had never felt.  
"Alright!" Ron called. Ginny and Harry were clapping, cheering, and whistling too; Ginny twirling her scarf around her head.  
Hermione's face deepened in color, whether it was a blush or the wind she didn't know, but she was happy. "Yeah, yeah," she laughed. "We're happy again, everyone's turning out ok."  
"Speaking of turning out ok, Mom and Dad are coming in the morning to take us all back to the Burrow for the Christmas holidays, and obviously Ginny permanently," Ron said.  
Ginny groaned. "I don't want to have to face them! I'm not ready," she pouted.  
Hermione let go of Draco and gave her friend a hug. "I'm sure a good night's sleep will help you face the music better in the morning," she said. "You can sleep down with me, so if you can't sleep we can talk."  
Ron yawned. "Man, it's too early to be so tired."  
"It's been a very very long day. Maybe we should all head in," Hermione said turning towards the castle. "I think that things will be changing quite a bit tomorrow." 


	14. From One Home to the Next

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any characters contained within this story, J. K. Rowling does, and she kicks ass, so I wouldn't steal her stuff from her.  
  
A/N- ok guys. this is my last chapter of Appearances! Don't cry, because I decided I wanted to change the format and stuff a bit, so my new story is a spin-off on the Ginny/Snape plotline told through first person narratives. the new piece is called In This Diary, and I hope you like it!  
  
Chapter 14: From One Life to the Next  
  
Ginny's eyes fluttered open and she adjusted herself to her surroundings. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Hermione busily running about her room packing. Groaning loudly she sat up and rubbed her eyes. "My parents are coming today, aren't they?" Stopping and turning towards the bed, Hermione screwed up her face and nodded. "You'd better get out of bed, because they're going to be here really soon. I think all the other students have left, too." She turned back to her packing quickly.  
  
"Fine," Ginny said throwing back Hermione's covers dramatically and putting her feet on the carpeted ground. "I'm going to go upstairs and pack all my stuff up." She yawned and stretched widely.  
  
"Oh, no need," Hermione said without glancing up. "I was up really early and took care of it for you." She stopped for a moment and looked at Ginny. "You shouldn't be doing too much strenuous activity in your condition, you know."  
  
Ginny's eyes widened. "Be quiet!" she hissed. "Do you want everyone to know?" She plopped back down on the bed, exasperated, and Hermione just shrugged and went back to her packing.  
  
On the table, Ginny noticed an unsealed white envelope. Curiously, she picked it up and turned it over to see "Severus Snape" written on the front. Her cheeks began to grow pink and a knot formed in her stomach. Hands shaking, she opened the envelope and pulled out the letter with Hermione's delicate scrawl on it. "Professor Snape," she began to read to herself. "I know that it is not any of my business, but I feel that you should know that Ginny is pregnant with your child."  
  
Livid, she jumped up, crumpled the letter and threw it at the trashcan, missing by a mile. "How dare you!" she screamed at Hermione. "I saw that letter you wrote to Severus! You had absolutely no right!"  
  
Hermione froze over her trunk. "I know," she whispered. She stood up slowly, afraid that any sudden movement would enrage Ginny further. "I know, I know, I'm sorry that I wrote it. I wasn't really going to give it to him."  
  
Ginny just stood there, seething.  
  
"I think you should tell him, but it is your decision," Hermione said more definitively. "I just wanted to get my thoughts out on paper, it makes me feel better about a situation."  
  
Loosening up a bit, Ginny walked towards the door. "Fine, but make sure it doesn't go any farther than that." She opened the door and slammed it emphatically behind her.  
  
In the common room, Ron and Harry were playing a game of exploding snap with their and Ginny's luggage piled around them. "Want in?" Ron said looking up at her.  
  
"No, I want my clothes."  
  
"Hermione left you an outfit on your bed upstairs," Harry said turning to look at her. "Your parents will be here in a half an hour, then we're going to meet Draco and talk to Dumbledore for a few minutes."  
  
Ginny grimaced. "Sounds fine." She walked silently upstairs to change.  
  
"She's really bummed about having to go home, isn't she?" Harry asked Ron and turning back to the game.  
  
Ron stared at him. "If you had to go home to my mother after getting kicked out of school for a year for messing around with a professor would you be excited?"  
  
Harry paused. "Nope, I'd be dragging my heels the whole way."  
  
"Exactly."  
  
Dragging her suitcase out of her room a little while later, Hermione backed through the door and threw herself down on the couch next to Harry. "You excited for another stay at the Burrow?" she said sarcastically.  
  
"Oh yeah," Ron said equally acerbically. "This is going to be a hoot."  
  
Hermione was becoming enthralled in Harry and Ron's game when Dobby walked in. "Happy Christmas, Dobby," she said giving him a warm smile.  
  
"And a Happy Christmas to you three as well," he said cheerfully as he walked up to them and presented them with shabby poorly wrapped gifts. "Dobby made them himself, but you can't open them until Christmas day."  
  
Harry and Ron gave him fake smiles as hey accepted their gifts. "Don't worry, we won't," Ron said. Hermione shot him a menacing look.  
  
"Thank you, Dobby, they look wonderful," she said sweetly.  
  
Dobby grinned sheepishly. "Dobby must straighten your rooms now, but he wants to tell you that Mr. Ron's parents are on their way this very moment." He smiled again and headed off for Hermione's room.  
  
Moments later, there was a knock at the Gryffindor common room door. "Must be Mum," Ron said, getting up to open the door. "Let's all put on a happy face."  
  
Before Ron could reach the door, it swung open revealing a chattering Mrs. Weasley and a patient Mr. Weasley. "That fat lady has been there for decades and she doesn't even recognize a Weasley, for goodness sake!" she cried. She looked and saw Ron standing there with a fake grin plastered on his face. "Oh Ron! Look at you, you've grown up so much in the past few months. Hasn't he, Dear?"  
  
"Oh yes, quite a bit taller," Mr. Weasley responded. "How are you doing, Ron?"  
  
"Fine Dad, just fine," Ron said dropping back into the common room.  
  
Hermione and Harry stood up to greet the Weasleys. "It's so great to be going back to the Burrow, Mrs. Weasley," Hermione said. "And I can't wait for you to get to know Draco better than what Ron and the twins have told you, he's a much better man than that now."  
  
"That's wonderful, Hermione. This is going to be a lovely break," Mrs. Weasley said, smiling. "Speaking of breaks," she said, her face faltering slightly. "Where's Ginny? Shouldn't she be ready to go by now?"  
  
"Here I am, Mum," a small voice called from the stairs. Ginny descended the steps slowly in a dress that made her look like a nun. Her head was bowed as she walked up to her parents.  
  
Mrs. Weasley cupped her hand under Ginny's chin and lifted her face up to look in her eyes. "Ginny, we're not going to lock you in your room for the next year. Everything's going to be all right. You were blinded by love and made some bad decisions, it's all over now. Things will be back to normal in a year."  
  
"No they won't," Ginny whispered. She cleared her throat and backed away from her mother's hand. "Mum, Dad, Ron, Hermione, Harry," she began more assuredly. "I have something that I need to tell you all about my suspension. Obviously you know that it was because I was sneaking out at night to meet someone, and you know that it was Professor Snape and that we're completely over with now. Well, a part of him is always going to be with me from now on."  
  
"Ginny, dear, it's natural to hold onto your first love," Mr. Weasley interjected.  
  
She held her head up and swallowed. "No, Dad, that's not what I mean. I'm."  
  
"Don't tell me," Mrs. Weasley gasped.  
  
"What?" Ron yelled.  
  
"Ron, shut up," Hermione and Harry hissed.  
  
"I'm pregnant!" Ginny blurted.  
  
No one said anything for a few minutes.  
  
Ron broke the silence. "You mean, you're going to have Snape's baby?" he asked calmly. Ginny nodded. "Ah, well then," he said, looking at his dumbfounded parents. "This is going to be a very interesting break indeed."  
  
"Ron, be quiet!" Mrs. Weasley hissed at him. Mr. Weasley's mouth opened and closed, but no sound would come out. "When we get home, we're going to have some words about this Virginia," Mrs. Weasley said calmly. "Right now we have to meet Draco in Dumbledore's office and have a short chat before we leave."  
  
One by one they all left the room in silence and headed towards the office. When they entered, Draco stood up and went to hug Hermione. "No touching!" Mrs. Weasley shouted abruptly.  
  
Everyone jumped back, startled, and looked at her. "Ah, Mrs. Weasley, good to see you and Arthur again," Dumbledore said. Motioning for them to take seats, he sat himself. "So, I'm assuming you've heard the good news about your daughter?" he asked them with a glimmer in his eyes.  
  
"I don't know if you'd call it 'good,' Albus," Mr. Weasley said, shifting uncomfortably.  
  
"A baby is always a blessing!" he chuckled. "I'm just hoping that the year off from school will be sufficient time away to have the child and get acclimated to life as a mother before finishing classes."  
  
Ginny's eyes teared. "You knew?" she asked. "How could you have possibly known? I didn't even know when I went to the professors."  
  
Draco's jaw dropped and his eyes grew wide. "Ginny's pregnant with Snape's baby?" he squeaked.  
  
Eyes twinkling, Dumbledore smiled knowingly. "Yes, Mr. Malfoy. And I tried to expel Ginny so that she could raise the baby properly, but Professor McGonagall made a strong point and I couldn't deny one of our brightest students the last year of her education, so I provided you with a 'sabbatical,' if you will."  
  
Ginny rose from her chair and walked over to Dumbledore. "Thank you," she whispered as she put her arms around him and cried silently into his white beard.  
  
"There there," he said gently, prying her from his chest. "Have you told the father yet?"  
  
She immediately stopped crying and straightened up. "No," she said, looking directly at Hermione. "And I'm not going to. I have my reasons." Mrs. Weasley opened her mouth to speak. "And I'd prefer not to be pressed on the issue," Ginny finished. "It's a done deal."  
  
Mr. Weasley stood up and looked at his daughter. "I'm not thrilled with the decision, Ginny, but I know that there's little to no chance of changing your mind. So I say we get this vacation started and head home."  
  
"Excellent idea," Ron said throwing himself from the chair and practically running towards the door. "Have a good holiday, Professor!" he said.  
  
Harry, Hermione, and Draco said their goodbyes and left the room as well. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley followed them out. "Goodbye, Professor," Ginny said. "Thank you for everything."  
  
Dumbledore just smiled. "Take care of that baby, and I want to see him or her in nine months."  
  
Ginny walked out of the room and caught up with her family who was nearing the huge doors in the entranceway. "You all ready to go?" Hermione asked. Ginny nodded. Smiling, Hermione hugged her tightly. "I know you'll miss it, but you'll be back soon enough, and you'll be a better person then too, trust me."  
  
As they walked through the doors, Ginny noticed Dobby waiting just inside. "Have a good holiday, Dobby," she said cheerfully. "I'll see you next year!"  
  
He smiled nervously in return. "Goodbye," he said and continued to wait.  
  
Dobby watched the Weasleys and company leave the grounds and he continually checked the entranceway for someone or something. He perked up slightly when he heard quick and heavy footsteps approaching. When the dark shoes and billowing black cloak reached the door he finally spoke up. "Professor Snape," he said sheepishly.  
  
Snape looked down and scowled. "What?" he snapped, shifting his weight and moving slightly away from the dingy looking Dobby.  
  
Dobby reached up under his hat and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. "Dobby found this mail for you while he was cleaning and thought he should deliver it in person, sir." He extended the paper to Snape.  
  
Snatching it away he smoothed out the wrinkled envelope and read his name on the front. "Please take more care in handling others' mail from now on. I'm sure you didn't find it in this state."  
  
Dobby shrank back and scattered away as quickly as he could. Snape frowned and looked at the envelope closely. Turning towards the door again he shoved it into the pocket of his robes and left Hogwarts for good. 


End file.
